


Those Who Walk Away From the Ghost Zone

by hauntedvoice



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Abandonment, Bullying, Harassment, M/M, This has a lot of the different ghosts in it, Too many to tag them all, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-21
Updated: 2015-11-17
Packaged: 2018-04-05 11:50:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 43,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4178724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hauntedvoice/pseuds/hauntedvoice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In order for there to be happiness and prosperity within all ghosts, sacrifices must be made by those who were never given the choice. AU. Eventually Pitch Pearl (Fenton/Phantom).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Newborn

Throughout the history of the Ghost Zone and into ancient times, a human child is abducted from their parents at birth and kept until its death. That child is expected to carry the immense burden of all ghosts on its shoulders. By no means is any ghost allowed to treat the child with love or respect. They are expected to ignore the child’s existence and pay no mind to it, even if it were to beg at their feet. The only interaction allowed is when each ghost reaches a certain maturity level. At whatever time that maturity level is reached, the ghost is brought to the door and informed of the child’s purpose. They are encouraged to enter the room and observe the child. However, contact is strictly prohibited as it’s a pleasure not allowed for it to experience. The child can only know misery, fear and loneliness for all its life. If it were to experience any sort of happiness or comfort the balance would be tipped. For it would no longer be able to take on the ghost’s misery and anger, plunging every ghost into an unspeakable rage.

In order for those of the Ghost Zone to be able to live a happy and carefree afterlife, one human child must suffer for eternity.

* * *

The Observants all filed into the counsel room, taking their seats anxious to get the Ghost Zone back in order again. It had been an entire decade since the unfortunate accident resulting in the last child’s death. With each passing year the ghosts became more violent and obsessive. Many of them traveled to the Human Plane to terrorize whoever they found. As much as they wanted to send their catcher, Warden, out to snatch any newborn child, it was common knowledge among them that they couldn’t. The only thing they could do was wait for the sign of the new child’s birth. Since not just any child could handle their burden.

“We will not be able to wait much longer.” One eyeball exclaimed, slamming his fist onto the surface in front of him.

“It is true!” Another one agreed. “We ghosts cannot function much longer without a new child. Many have already become consumed by their obsession. Without the human to impose their frustration and disappointments upon-“

“Surely you understand that we must wait for the moment to come to us. As it always has.” An Observant from the other side of the row yelled, cutting off the one before him.

“Perhaps we should request details from Clockwork?”

“So you suggest wasting our time!”

“No. I merely am suggesting an alternative-“

“Never before has he ever disclosed any information regarding the child with us. Why would he now?” All at once it seemed that everyone of the Observants began arguing with each other. Throwing as many intellectual ideas and heavy critiques they could around the room. Not a single one noticing the signal they were looking for begin to form in the middle of the room. It took the cry of a baby to halt the argument and silence the room. The silence lasted only a few moments before they sprang into action, giving commands left and right.

“The newborn is here! Send him to fetch the child!”

“Summon Frostbite immediately!”

“With haste!”

* * *

The catcher entered the Human Plane through the first natural portal available. Warden was a particularly grotesque ghost. He wore old bloody spec ops clothing with rips all over the clothe from his time of death. With many oozing scars on his body and only one present eye, every couple unfortunate enough to have their child targeted was terrified by his mere appearance. Both parents frozen by fear as Warden arrived, allowing him to get in and get out quickly with the child in hand, leaving the parents to wallow in their anguish. However, with the human’s rapidly expanding technology came new careers. Little did he know that when he arrived at Amity Park’s maternity wing, the parents of the new savior were beginning ghost hunters.

He had only minutes until his return portal would appear. Before taking another step, he forced himself invisible. When he entered the room of Jack and Maddie Fenton, little Daniel was asleep in his mother’s arms. Jack was asleep in a chair that was pulled right up against the bed. Maddie held her baby boy with the utmost love and the sweetest smile on her face. Warden silently floated over to the clear side of the bed and quickly plucked the boy from his mother’s arms.

Almost immediately Maddie yelled, “GHOOST!” and pulled out a mini ecto-gun from beneath her pillow. She pointed it at the air above her baby’s head. Seconds later Jack Fenton awoke and clumsily pulled out his own weapon. But neither of them moved a muscle past that. They wouldn’t be able to live with themselves if they hit Daniel. The ecto-beams may not cause excruciating pain as would a ghost, but they could still seriously hurt a newborn. Warden turned visible and laughed. The shocked expression on the parent’s faces still classic to him.

By this time little Daniel had awoken from his nap. He looked over to his mother and giggled, reaching out for her. Warden took one of his small hands and forced a waving motion before turning intangible and flying through the floor. Barely able to hear the mother’s frantic screams over the baby’s crying. Warden cradled the child in his arms and flew for the morgue where the return portal appeared right on schedule.


	2. Coming of Age

The child was quickly placed into an Observant's hands and taken off to where it would spend the rest of its life. Little Daniel was stripped of everything he had. For his life's purpose, clothes were too much of a luxury. He wasn't even permitted to keep a blanket. The great steel door opened with a low ominous growling sound. The ghost floated into the room and placed him onto the cold, unforgiving stone floor. The Observant quickly left the room and the newborn behind on its own. He shut the door, sealing the room and the child's fate.

For many days afterwards, a baby's faint cry could be heard from within, never once getting answered. Meanwhile, the ones of The Far Frozen were welcoming a new addition into their family with love.

The ghost child was quickly given his name, Danny Phantom, within days of his arrival. He developed his abilities of ecto-manipulation and Cryokinesis faster than anyone expected. He never developed any enemies since all the anger was constantly placed onto the human within the Observant's 'care.' Danny played with many ghosts in his younger years. The Box Ghost was a constant amusement with an endless box maze to fly through as a toddler and continued to be an amusement in a target sort of way as he grew into a kid. Johnny 13 helped feed his mischievous side by riding around the Zone playing pranks on other ghosts and occasionally in the human world as well. While Johnny was busy with Kitty, Danny followed around whatever ghost would let him. In his early preteens Skulker would take him on short hunting trips. Claiming he'd show Danny "how it's done" only to be beaten to the finish by the ghost child himself.

As years passed, both the human and the ghost child grew. While the ghost child was showered with love, educated and was able to explore wherever he wanted… the human child was still locked in the same room, growing up alone and without ever knowing what it felt like to be loved. He was, however, never forgotten in the Human Realm. Jack and Maddie Fenton not only became world renowned ghost hunters, but also ghost _killers_. A few months after the loss of their son, they returned to their research with a new fire ablaze in their hearts. They successfully completed their own functioning ghost portal in record time; a mere 7 years after the disappearance of their son. Jack and Maddie equally invented numerous weapons meant to permanently eliminate ghosts from existence. Most of which they sold to keep their research going, but made sure to keep a few to themselves.

At the age of 13 Danny was at the necessary level of maturity. He was called to the Observant's realm from his place at The Far Frozen; only told that he needed to get there with haste. Naturally as a sort of father figure, Danny quickly found Frostbite to tell him the news. "What could they possibly want to tell me?" He wondered, flying happily through the air. "I wonder what's so important." He continued to ramble in an excited fashion until Frostbite raised his hand, calling for Danny's full attention.

"Young Phantom, you, as well as all ghosts, are required to learn one of the great secrets of the Ghost Zone at some point in their afterlives. It's typically when they have reached a specific maturity level." Danny had floated down until his feet touched the ground. His excitement diminishing as Frostbite's tone became stricter. "You are to take this issue very seriously. No playing around. Understand?" Danny nodded, unsure what to say, having never seen Frostbite so serious before. "Now go, don't be late." He gave Danny a nudge and a smile as the young spirit flew at his breakneck speed.

Upon arrival he was quickly escorted past the meeting chambers, past the prison and into the depths that housed the forbidden chamber. Danny was soon face to face with a giant door. It was nothing like the other prison doors in the realm. There were no bars, glass windows or openings anywhere. It was as though a thick, steel slab was forced into the empty space in the walls. He made a move to push it open but it wouldn't budge, there wasn't even a handle anywhere to be found. It was then that the Observant escorting him pushed him aside and took out a ring that held a thousand keys. Once the eyeball found the one he was looking for he inserted it straight into the steel slab and turned it.

Danny could hear the mechanisms within the door moving and shifting as it unlocked. The Observant motioned Danny forward, ever so slightly pushing the door open, spreading an eerie sound from the hinges into the air. "What lies within this chamber is what allows us to live with happiness and joy, even during our afterlives." Danny took a cautious step inside, the Observant staying in the doorway.

The first thing Danny noticed was how big the room was. It was twice the size of all the other prison chambers he had seen on his way in. There were no windows or even hints of cracks leading to the outside world. The floor and walls were wet and dripping; a thin fog lingering in the air. What he noticed next was the unusual level of darkness. Even for him, it was almost pitch black. His aura and glowing green eyes acting like a light bulb within the darkness. Had the door been closed, the only light that would have reached inside would've been the smallest sliver of dull light coming from the bottom of the door. It took him a while to find what the Observant had spoken of. In the left corner closest to the door sat a young boy. He had shaggy black hair that fell way past his eyes and was very skinny. The boy was curled up as far back against the wall as he could, his head low, covering most of his features.

"This," The voice, however low and calm, boomed in the immense silence of the room. Both boys flinched at the sudden sound. The Observant continued, gesturing to the boy with his hand "is how we are able to function as we do." The eyeball motioned Danny to observe the boy closer, to take the entire scene in. "This thing exists here to shoulder all the anger and misfortune that every ghost carries. Without it, we would be consumed by our inevitable obsessions and plunged into despair."

After exchanging an uneasy glance with his escort, Danny took a step forward. His white tennis shoes created what seemed like a mini explosion with every step, breaking the already unbearable silence each time. He stopped mere feet away from the boy and looked down at him with a deep pain welling up in his core. His eyes found a chain shackled onto the boy's left ankle. It was connected to the wall only six feet away; the chain links already a little taunt. _This… can't be right._ As soon as the thought came to mind he felt deathly sick. Danny collapsed to his knees, holding one hand over his mouth and clutching his stomach. His breathing was harsh and jagged as he fought for control again.

When the sensation diminished to a dull pain he finally looked up. Glowing green eyes met dark and hollow blue ones. Danny took in every feature of the boy forced to suffer for their happiness. "You…" He reached out and moved a small mass of tangled hair away from the boy's eyes, Danny's fingers brushing gently over the boy's cheek. "…look just like me… except…"

Danny was abruptly jerked back, held by the collar of his black turtle neck. His eyes lingered on the wide blue ones as he was forcibly dragged out. Right before the door closed he saw the boy lean forward, as though hoping for one last look. Once outside the room, Danny was shoved against the wall by his escort. "By absolutely **no** means, are you permitted to touch, talk, or show any positive emotion to that _thing_! You must never interact with it!" Danny flinched under the unusually angry Observant's gaze.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know! I won't make that mistake again." Danny was released from the Observant's hold and stumbled onto his feet. He rubbed his throat absentmindedly, astonished by the amount of emotions shown that are typically unseen from the floating eyes. As they began their trek out Danny couldn't help but ask one question. "If you don't … um… mind me asking… why?"

"Why what? Ah." The eyeball placed a hand on Danny's shoulders. "Because if it ever feels comfort from another being, it will cease to be able to follow its fate." There was a questionable look on the young ghost's face. "You seem skeptical. I can assure you its necessary. Incidents have happened in the past where it has become tainted by another. Without the child's pure being, it was no longer able to live with our burden. Thus, forced to be _taken care of_." The hand resting on Danny's shoulder patted his back, as though dismissing the subject and saying it what nothing to worry about.

The entire way back Danny couldn't help it when his mind lingering back to the boy. He looked like his exact opposite. He couldn't get that fact out of his mind. The way the boy looked at him when he spoke to him, instead of around him. It was like that was the first time someone acknowledged his presence. The Observant's words also stung Danny's core; it felt as though the words twisted an ancient knife stuck in his back.

At the door, Danny was instructed to return to The Far Frozen. As he was hurried out, he caught a glimpse of a group of the ancient ghosts huddled around each other. They sent him looks and appeared to be speaking frantically. When they realized his gaze was on them, they waved a hand and Danny was practically shoved out.

As soon as the young spirit was gone there was a great uproar within the ancient ghosts. An emergency meeting was called and they once again filed into their seats in the main counsel room. While they were all jumpy this time there was no arguing. Only at a time of great crisis did they successfully discuss an issue.

The Observant currently on the stand began. "It's happening sooner than we thought. Much soon then we expected." Nervous murmurs broke out around the room. The speaker raised a hand, directing their attention back. "The only option left is to send him away."

One eyeball stood up, clearly panicked. "Where and with whom? Besides what good will it do us to have him out of our sight?" He slammed his palm onto the surface. "We need to keep him close."

"No we cannot risk that again."

"It's true; it hadn't worked in the past."

"That was ruled out as an option long ago! Save that for some worthless discussion."

"Silence!" The speaker's voice boomed, quieting any chance of a fight forming. "We must try a different approach. One that is sure to surpass our past attempts on an even higher level of success." By then, he had everyone's attention. They all leaned forward in their seats, eager to learn the solution. "We will assign him a mentor, one who knows the situation and whom we can trust. From there Danny Phantom will be sent to the Human Plane for a minimum of a year, in search of his obsession. Once he has acquired an adequate one to occupy his mind, he will be allowed back into the Ghost Zone."

The crowd erupted into applause at the genius plan. Comments of praise and hope echoed throughout the chamber as the plan was set.

The speaker once again raised his hands in an attempt to calm the crowd down. "Now, in terms of his mentor…"

* * *

Needless to say, Clockwork was not too pleased with having the young and overly energetic Danny Phantom thrown into his lap by his employers. Claiming, "You are the only one who knows the severity of the situation as well as we do. You must make sure Danny Phantom finds his obsession."

Clockwork didn't move or even acknowledge the two Observants who came to inform him of his new side job as mentor. Instead he continued to watch the time streams before him as they talked nonstop about details he already knew. The two eyeballs fell silent and soon began to whisper to each other, until one finally came forward. "Clockwork? Have you been listening?"

The image of the future dissolved into the usual green swirl. "All you Observants do, is push your problems onto everyone else. Doing nothing, but observing." Clockwork shifted his scepter in his hand as he phased into a child and faced his annoyances. "I already know what it is young Danny will find in the Human World as his obsession. It matters not who brings him."

"But that's all the more reason for you to be his mentor! You'll know what to guide him to and what to steer him away from." Clockwork gave him what appeared to be a neutral look, but still caused the eyeball to back away.

"I believe what he's trying to say is that other ghosts may focus too much on their own obsession, quickly forgetting their mission with Phantom." This Observant came forward even more, challenging the Master of Time as his employer. "You _will_ take this job Clockwork."

"Fine." The tension building up in his two guests was suddenly released. Clockwork swung his scepter out, pointing it towards the exit. "Now that you've done what you came here for, care to observe the door?"

* * *

"I don't get it." Danny was sprawled on the roof of a building somewhere in the human world. The lights from the city glowed in the darkness, enhanced by the snow clouds that covered the moon. "How am I supposed to figure out what my obsession is?" It had been almost a year since Danny had left the Ghost Zone. For the most part he was left to his own devices, but every few months Clockwork would check in on him and set him on the right track. So far Danny's quest was disappointingly unsuccessful.

"Name the obsessions of ghosts you know." A groan erupted from the young spirit, followed by the soft thud of a scepter hitting his head playfully.

Danny sat up and named the first few that came to his mind. "Skulker's is hunting. The Ghostwriter with his books. Ember's is music. Poindexter and anti bullying. The Box Ghost's obsession is in his name… and yours is keeping track of time and making sure it's on the right path." The latter he said with a smirk, glancing up at his mentor.

Clockwork phased into his adult form. "Alright, alright." He motioned Danny to come over to the edge of the building with him. He gestured to the world and the people walking on the streets below. "During your entire time here, has there not been one lone thought that keeps creeping into your mind?" Danny thought for a moment, unsure what his mentor was getting at. Because he was in the same city for almost a year, his thoughts were relatively the same on a day to day basis. He glanced down at all the people roaming the streets. His eyes glazing over every one of them, each sending him deeper into a kind of trance. "There it is again." Clockwork noted calmly.

Danny jerked back, away from the edge. "What?" He fidgeted as he tried to find something else to focus on. A few tense moments went by and Clockwork still had said nothing more. Danny knew very well the rules of the secret he learned a year ago. Despite being told interest in the subject was forbidden, he carefully working in questions throughout the year when Clockwork would visit. He didn't have any preference on what he was told about the boy, anything sufficed. As long as it was the truth. His curiosity brought him to know who the boy's parents were, basics on what they've been up to since and even little snippets of how his life has been inside that dark empty room. With every new story and bit of information about the boy, the knife in his back twisted. Kept chained to a wall with an anti-human link, never brought food and left alone to suffer in that unbearable silence. Danny was relieved when he was later told how humans don't feel hunger in the Ghost Zone just as ghosts don't in the human world. But nothing was able to comfort him when he thought of the boy locked in the back of the Ghost Zone. There was nothing in the human world that had the power to distract him and prevent his mind from traveling back to that room. As the year passed his desire to go back there and wrap the boy within his arms, reassuring him that 'it'll be ok' began to overwhelm him. He hadn't admitted it yet since the desire alone was considered one of the great taboos of the subject.

Now with Clockwork, the all knowing Master of Time and the ghost who was in frequent contact with the Observants, pressing him on the matter he didn't know what to do. Ashamed for hiding the point of his being here from his mentor, Danny began to simply speak his mind. His desire to get back to the Ghost Zone and see the boy again clouded his vision of what the consequences may be. "Ever since I arrived here, every single human I see makes me think of him." Danny turned away from his mentor.

"Oh?" Clockwork exclaimed, encouraging the young spirit to continue.

"I see all these humans as they walk by. Free to go and do whatever they want. I've seen them frustrated and crying. I watched as a dying woman suddenly started laughing and even smile." He walked over to the edge once more and spread his arms out, gesturing to the world. "The air is clean and the sky is clear and beautiful. Yet, the only thing that comes to mind is 'I wish that boy could see this' or 'if only he was allowed to laugh'. Why must one suffer to such extents for the selfishness of the rest?" Danny started down at the humans on the ground, all completely unaware of anything outside their own joyful lives.

"Yes why indeed." The tone in his mentor's voice made him think of a prophet telling his people a cryptic message that they weren't meant to understand until much later. Clockwork phased into an elder and placed a gentle hand on Danny's head, ruffling his hair. "It seems you've found your obsession. Now what are you going to do about it?"


	3. The Obsession

Within a week Danny Phantom was allowed to return to the Ghost Zone. He spent much of his first few days back to himself. Clockwork assured him that the Observants were satisfied with his fake obsession with space. Danny did enjoy gazing up at the stars, but the boy in the room took over his mind much more than the night sky. With his true obsession clear in his mind, he mapped out what he remembered of the eyeball’s realm. How many cell blocks to go past, how many turns he needed to make, how to avoid being seen on his way in and out as well as how to hide himself when confronted by the great steel door once more. He figured since they only go there when a ghost has reached the required maturity level, which wasn’t a common occurrence; it’d be alright to simply keep an ear out. The details of getting in and out without tripping anything was something he needed to think over more.

While on a walk with Cujo, Danny had his epiphany. The old saying of ‘dogs can’t look up’, which was a total lie, gave him an idea. _Why would a bunch of eyeballs who believed themselves above the rest enough where they truly believed they could control and manipulate other’s fates, look up?_ There was supposedly no one above them in the Ghost Zone. All Danny had to do, as simple as it was, was fly as close to the ceiling as possible. It seemed ridiculous but it was the only plan he had. He wouldn’t bring anything with him, knowing fully well there was no way to open the door without the keys. There was also no large enough space to slide anything through, so bringing something for the boy would be pointless.

A few days later Danny was ready to break into the eyeball’s realm and see the boy who shared the same time of birth into the world as him.

Danny waited invisible, right outside the overarching door. As he waited for someone to either enter or leave, he wondered for the first time what he’d do once he arrived at the room. Would he be alight just being near him? Should he say something? What would it hurt to strike up what was most likely the boy’s first conversation? But, as soon as he interacts with the boy in anyway they’ll both be in deep trouble. The jerks of this realm would make sure to kill them both for disrupting the balance, and then proceed to simply fetch another child to fill the new slot. As much as Danny didn’t want to allow that to happen, he needed to be close to this boy. It was something he felt deep within his core. Sometimes he wondered if this was truly just a common ghostly obsession or if it was something more. The door opened for someone on their way in and Danny was not far behind.

Once inside, he flew to the top of the ceiling. The ancient ghosts were much calmer than he’d ever seen. They were still all huddled in their own little groups no doubt discussing the numerous boring topics of the Ghost Zone. Danny floated pass them down the corridors. Had he neglected to memorize the map, he would have surely gotten lost. However, he hadn’t remembered the path to the room being this long. He was starting to wonder if he took a wrong turn. He was about to make the decision on whether he should go back and try another corridor when he came up to the stairs. He recognized them immediately from his visit over a year ago. With a quick glance around, he plummeted down into the dull darkness.

The light from above vanished, slowly morphing into the darkness that now surrounded him. Danny’s core hummed with anticipation, getting stronger and stronger as he flew through the cave-like hallways. His eyes darted around, trying to see past the dead ends. After having to turn back and find a new route several times, he managed to round the corner that the beautiful door that hid the being he didn’t know, yet cherished all the same.

He came to a halt right before it. It was then when he realized he didn’t know what he was going to say. There wasn’t a very good chance the boy would even understand him either, having no one ever teach him a language. He could only hope that the boy remembered his voice from over a year ago. Danny took a few steps back before charging at the door in hopes of passing through it. His body crashed into the steel slab, a loud smack erupting as he made contact with the surface.

From within, the boy had been sleeping soundlessly, curled up in a tight ball. Without a light source to signify day and night he slept whenever his body grew tired. He awoke with a start as the loud noise echoed throughout his prison cell. The boy sat up and scurried backwards until he hit the unforgiving stone wall. He sat there as whatever was on the other side slid down the door until it landed on the floor. Terrified, he refuses to move. An audible exhale of breath filled the silence as the boy coward in the corner, accustom to abuse coming soon after the arrival of a ‘guest.’ There had been times when he moved to inspect the noises and times when he stayed still, both resulting in the same consequence. However, fear kept him still. The boy leaned forward and wrapped his arms around his legs, resting his head on his knees. Waiting... for anything.

“You’re in there, aren’t you?” The voice surprised him. He had been expecting one of the green eyeballs to open the door and let something in to scare him. But it was just a voice, nothing more. “Sorry if I woke you.” The words were low and unrushed. There was something about the tone that the boy held onto. “I doubt you remember me. I visited you last year… although I’m sure down here time’s pretty hard to measure. But I remember you. I had to come back. I had to be near you again. You probably don’t even know what the hell I’m talking about… or can even understand me.”

What followed was a tense silence. He wasn’t sure if he should go over to the door, make a sound or just keep still. The latter won out. So he sat there, terrified and untrusting. For a long time the silence remained, broken only by the boy’s staggered breathing. It got to a point where the boy was pretty sure the being had silently left and he started to relax his constantly tense muscles. He ran a hand through his tangled hair, unsure if he should be glad or disappointed that he had a visitor like that. They boy stretched his legs; the chains clamped tightly on his ankle clinked on the floor from the movement. He froze as he heard a shuffling sound on the other side of the door.

Danny had stood up; his muscles ached from sitting in the same position for so many hours. He faced the obstacle in front of him, resting his forehead on the cold steel. “It’s not fair for you to be forced to suffer in there your entire life… never once given the chance to choose how your life goes.” Danny raised his hands to the door. “You deserve to smile like everyone else.” He bent down and slid the tip of his fingers through the crack at the bottom of the door.

This was it. This was the moment the boy had been waiting for. When the being tries to force himself inside by violently banging on the door or attempting to rip it off its hinges. Despite the dark room being his ‘home’ and eventually his death bed, it also kept him safe from the creatures on the other side of the walls. He watched with absolute terror as a cold mist slowly flowed into the room. As soon as it touched the ground it disappeared. Instead of hurting him, it became a drawing of something he had never seen before. The design fascinated him. He crept closer to it. The design itself and the air around it were cold. As he touched it the design began to fade, turning into a small puddle on the floor.

“I’ll come back when I can. I promise.” This time the boy knew that the being had left. Its footsteps grew quiet very quickly until they disappeared completely.

* * *

It wasn’t like he expected to have some in depth conversation during his first visit. He knew it would take some time to gain the boy’s trust. It wasn’t going to happen overnight. Especially since he had been tormented his entire life by ghosts who held his fate in their hands… and liked it.

He could barely fit his hand under the door so bringing little trinkets was still a no go. But Danny was determined to bring a little light to that darkness. Every time he went to that room he told a new story of the outside world. He spun tales from his year in the human world. Some were sad, happy, miraculous, funny and irritating. He described with great detail the sun and daylight as well as the moon and the night sky. He talked about his explorations of the Ghost Zone and occasionally its inhabitants. He recalled jokes he’d heard from humans and ghosts. He explained seasons and their weather, trying to convey what it was like to be rained upon or to have a strong wind blow in your face. He rarely spoke about himself, feeling like there were more interesting subjects to present. He talked about anything he could think of. Afterwards, he always created a new design with his Cryokinesis ability that typically related to whatever topic he spoke about. Before leaving he said his usual phrase, “I’ll come back when I can.” But by then it meant sometime next day.

Danny had already become used to feeling like he was talking to a brick wall by his third visit. While it would have made him ecstatic to get a response once in a while, he was happy nonetheless. He had just created a city skyline to accompany his latest tale when he decided to linger a bit longer. He stayed seated; leaning up against the door. Danny sighed and stood up. “I’ll be back whenever I can.”

“…come back soon.”

The voice seemed to come out of nowhere. It was low and clearly rusty. However, there was no doubt in Danny’s mind who it belonged to. After the initial shock the only thing he could do was smile. He was getting through, past the physical barriers that blocked any contact. He was able to give some joy, however small, to the human forever trapped in darkness. “I promise.” Full of newfound excitement, Danny flew off, already eager to return.

For every visit that followed, the boy began to slowly contribute more and more to the conversation. The odd feeling of loneliness Danny had when it was just his voice beforehand vanished instantly. With each meeting, the boy inched closer and closer to the door. The being he was talking to was his sole source of comfort; the first and only positive thing in his life. Something he could look forward to everyday. He was quickly able to tell when the voice showed up before they even spoke.

It didn’t take long for the boy to open up even more. He talked about himself and the life he’d managed to life thus far. But that only came up if Danny didn’t have anything else. It was a topic that the boy obviously preferred to avoid. Instead he wanted be told about the wonders of both worlds, ones he was afraid he’d never be able to witness firsthand.

After a week of consistent visits that tended to last hours at a time, the boy gave Danny a gift of his own. He laughed. It was a light hearted and sweet laugh, probably the first true one he ever had. If Danny still harbored any doubts about what he’d been doing the past few months, it all came to a halt. Hearing that whole hearted and innocent sounding laugh finalized his doubts, knowing that the boy had to be smiling in the darkness made the sneaking, the secrecy and all the lies worth it.

To Danny, progression and change in the boy was clear at that point. He was finally at a point where his life wasn’t full of constant misery. However, that change became vividly clear to the Fate Holders. They saw changes in his behavior, expressions and even posture. Even some of the ghosts had started showing slight bursts of negative emotions.

The door as abruptly shoved open. Frantic and panic stricken, two Observants swiftly enter the room. At first they ignored the boy who quietly stayed in the corner. They immediately began inspecting the room for any foreign object that didn’t belong; which was anything. After double checking the room, they floated towards the cowering boy. One Observant grabbed his ankle chain and yanked it forward, forcing him away from the wall. The eyeball grabbed the boy’s arm, pulling it closer so he was forced to sit up and wouldn’t be able to shy away from them. They held his head still, inspecting every line on his face. The common tear marks had faded ever so slightly. He had new lines by his eyes, ones that were unrelated to the heavy bags under his eyes. Laugh lines. “Look.” One pointed out the evidence as if it explained everything.

“Who is conversing with you? Tell us!” Yelled the one who had the boy in his grip.

“Don’t bother. It’s not like he can understand or legibly answer back. It’s a waste of time. Besides, there are other ways to find out.” The boy was terrified, unable to escape the eye’s grasp. All of a sudden he was thrown back. His body landed hard on the stone. Fearful of invoking anymore wrath he dared not move until they left. He watched with baited breath as they slowly floated back out. “We can simply call in Walker and have him set up-”

"Wait, you don't suppose it could be Phantom, do you?"

"Don't be ridiculous, we already took care of that. He's been too busy satisfying his obsession in the human world." The door clicked and he was alone once more.

* * *

It had been a quiet night. No one went in and, of course, no one came out. The prison guard had originally been thrilled when he was given such a high level assignment. To be trusted with such an immensely important task was an honor for the lowly guard. But after numerous hours of watching an uneventful screen, he had lost his excitement. Needless to say, when someone actually did appear, his attention skyrocketed. Curiosity made him wait and see what the little white haired ghost was going to do before contacting his boss. "What are you up to?"

"You awake?" Danny had arrived at the door with an excited air about him, one that could be easily heard in his voice. The same could not be said for the boy.

The boy tapped twice on the door before leaning against it. Two other taps followed almost immediately. "You're late..."

Danny couldn't help but laugh at the playful tone, replying with one of his own. "Sorry darling." They both laughed that time. It wasn't long before their laughter calmed into a short silence.

"It's getting worse..."

Danny could hear the boy shuffling around, curling up against the door. He leaned his head against the door, "What happened?"

"They came again, a little while after you left last time. Then... then there was so much noise. No matter what I did I couldn't block out the sounds. When I went towards the door, one of them came in. It wasn't one of the eyeballs... and he..." His voice had stopped, replaced with the unpleasant sound of soft crying. Danny's throat felt like it was closing in on itself. He longed for nothing more than to hold this boy in his arms and say 'it'll be OK'. He put his hand against the door, wishing it could go through the ghost-made material and pull the boy out.

A moment passed and Danny felt something in his hand, he quickly realized it was the boy's hand. The first thing Danny noticed was how perfectly their palms fit against each other. He slowly closed his fingers around the boy's hand, interlacing their fingers together. The hand was luke warm against his cold skin. "I don't know how much longer I can take of this Danny..." The boy choked out. There was a pang in his core as the hand that held his so desperately began to tremble.

The prison guard shot up in his chair as he watched the events unfolding on the mini screen. "We've got you now!" He paused the video feed at that moment, intending to use it as evidence if need be. He bolted out of the closet sized room and flew rapidly down the hallway.

The guard burst into Walker's office. "Sir!" The guard stopped and moved to attention. Walker was sitting at his desk going through paperwork. When he looked up the guard continued, "Someone has made contact." Walker put down his pen and raised an eyebrow as if to ask 'who?' "Although the image was blurry, I am confident it was Danny Phantom, Sir!"

Walker placed his hands on his desk and stood, pushing his chair behind him. He walked to the low ranked guard he had sentenced to what he thought was a hopeless task that would never actually give them the identity of the betrayer. "Good work soldier. I’ll take it from here." Walker left his office and continued down the hall with an aura of authority.

"I wish there wasn't these barrier's between us. That I wasn't stuck inside this room... but able to see the things you've seen and experience something other than... this." Danny's chest tightened.

"I know." Danny rubbed his thumb back and forth over one of the boy's fingers. "Trust me; I won't let you rot in there." He gently squeezed the boy's hand and received a light one back. "I promise." They both leaned further against the door, trying in vain to be just a little bit closer.

"Well, well, if it isn't little Danny Phantom." The boy could hear a pair of boots click on the floor tiles, getting closer with each sound.

He felt the hand in his twitch and heard a sharp intake of breath from its owner. "Danny? What's wrong?"

"...Walker..." He recognized the name from Danny's stories. The Ghost Zone's warden. The one who puts away ghosts who break the law and makes sure they never do it again. He wasn't quite sure if that was Danny's response or not. But what he was sure of was that Danny was terrified. This time it was Danny's hand that shook. He tightened his grip around Danny's hand as he listened to his breathing increase with every passing second.

"It's against the rules for you to even be here Phantom." Danny slowly moved his hand behind his back as Walker spoke. "Speaking to it, amusing it and filling its head with nonsense-"

"None of it is nonsense! And he isn't an 'it'!" As soon as the words left his mouth he regretted it. The expression on Walker's face told him just how screwed he was. He couldn't help but shrink back against the door.

Walker smirked, his face cast in shadows as he towered over the young spirit. "Contact is also against the rules, Phantom." Danny's eyes grew wide just as Walker snapped his fingers.

From the shadows behind him, a group of four prison guards emerged. Danny twisted around, hooking his free hand under the door. One of the ghosts grasped his legs and pulled to no prevail. "Now, now, don't make this hard on yourself Phantom."

Danny clung to his spot. He looked over his shoulder at Walker who stood confidently with his arms crossed. "Please... try to hold on just a little longer." He whispered to the boy.

Danny was suddenly jerked back from his waist. He looked up and saw Walker looming above him. "This has gone on far enough Phantom." Walker raised one of his legs and slammed his heel into Danny's elbow. There was a loud crack accompanied with a shriek. On reflex his hand release its grip from the door, his other still intertwined with the boy's. Walker kicked Danny onto his back, "Don't make me break the other one." Danny held his arm close to his chest, the healing process already kicking in. Walker moved to Danny's other side and stepped onto his wrist, slowly pivoting his foot in order to force the hand loose from the boy's. "Get him out of here." The guards swarmed, one took Danny's injured arm while the second took his other arm, finally prying their hands apart. They dragged Danny away from the human's prison kicking and screaming. Walker motioned towards the remaining guards to finish the task before he left with the traitor.

The last two guards opened the door, coming face to face with the surprised and absolutely terrified human. He stumbled backwards as the two ghosts entered the room, closing the door behind them. Danny could still hear the screams and pleads for his help as he was dragged out of the darkness.

* * *

Danny flinched as the sound of the gavel echoed throughout the room. Everyone around him stood for attention. "Ghost Zone against Danny Phantom, now in session." Danny lifted his head and glanced around for the first time. The room was a perfect circle, with him in the middle. There were rows of desks arranged in increasing height just like bleachers and not a single seat was empty. The one exit was blocked by two of Walker's goons. Walker himself was a ways in front of him, right below the judge's stand, holding his arms confidently behind his back.  Danny tried to stand but was prevented from doing so by chains clamped tightly on his wrists, forcing him to stay on his knees. Had he stretched out his fingers he would have been able to touch the floor. "Charges are: interacting with it, verbally and physically as well as introducing it to happiness and joy." All the Observant's in the room gasped and hissed, trying to show their disgust for such vial acts. "Evidence of this can be seen from the behavior of a few of our ghost brethrens, eye witness accounts by Walker and his guards and its behavior."

A few of the Observant's called out, their rage consuming them. "Unforgivable!"

"Put him away forever!"

"Madness!"

From within the shouts for justice, a low devilish laugh shook Danny's shoulders. One by one, the Observant's grew quiet as the laughter grew louder until it was the only sound in the room. The eyeballs watched as the white haired spirit shook with laughter, shaking his head side to side. He abruptly threw his head back, tears dancing down his face in the light. He lightly tugged at his restraints again. Danny leaned forward and quickly crossed his arms, lengthening the chains enough to stand. When he did, many of the Observant's jerked back in fright. "You've GOT to be KIDDING me!" Danny continued to tug wildly at his restrains as he yelled. "You jerk offs act as though what I did was the worst taboo ever committed!" Danny's core pounded in his chest. Ice began to form by his hands and feet, crawling down the chains and across the floor. "How can you sit by and watch with such enthusiastic smiles as he suffers cold and alone? Don't you feel anything?" At that point, everyone could see their breath. "You're all just a fucking bunch of heartless bastards!"

"That. Is. Enough!" The gavel smacked against the surface once more and a long volt of electricity was shot up the chains. As Danny screamed, the Observant's relaxed into their seats again. Once the judge thought it was enough, he released the trigger button and Danny collapsed on the ground. "I will have order, young Phantom." Danny lifted his head, glaring daggers at the Head Observant.

"You... you can't just leave him there alone. He needs someone. Anything but what he has now. Some sort of daily interaction." He struggled through every syllable as he spoke, electricity still lingering in his nerves.

Walker stepped forward. He grabbed a handful of Danny's hair and forced his head up. "Then how about you just join him?" Danny couldn't help but look away, guilt eating at him.

"That wouldn't do." Walker let go of the young ghost's hair and stood to his side. "Only a human can carry our burden. A companion would only lessen its ability to do so. It cannot and will not be done."

Danny spat out a clump of green blood. "Why him?"

"The boy was born pure. Untainted by anything in his world. In fact, even if we plucked him from his parents’ a few years after his birth, he'd still be just as pure." The Head Observant spoke with a light joyous tone, those around him nodding in agreement. "His unconscious internal wish is 'to save'. His spirit chose this on its own."

"You can't assume total bullshit like that!" Another bolt of energy was shot into his system.

"SILENCE!" The now annoying sound of the gavel crashed through the room. Irritated and exhausted, he could barely struggle under Walker's foot against his back. He felt his restraints loosen; only to be hastily replaced by what he assumed was a pair of energy-handcuffs. "You will learn your place in our world or suffer the consequences young Phantom!"  Danny was quickly lifted onto his feet by his shoulders as the gavel came down for the last time.


	4. Escape from the Ghost Zone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ghost speech is just the sentences typed backwards, for simplicity and partially for my sanity's sake.

The whip cracked down once more across his exposed back, splitting the skin. Air rushed through his teeth as the muscles seized under his skin, causing his back to arch painfully. Ectoplasm rushed to the wounds and poured down his back. With every rift through the air, a new welt appeared on his skin. Each one sent waves of agony throughout his body. He clenched his teeth against each lashing, clutching his restraints in a death grip; the only things keeping him up. Any thoughts that ran through Danny's mind were ripped apart like his skin with each strike. Only hope that it would end consistently occurred to him through the pain. But each time, it too, was driven away.

Danny had long lost the will to keep his head up, too exhausted to even obey his reflexes when the whip came down again. His head rested on his shoulder as dull green eyes gazed lifelessly into the pools of ectoplasm that soaked the floor. His body convulsed within the restraints as blood spewed from his mouth, splattering onto the stone beneath his feet, adding to the pool.

Cold liquid dripped from his mouth, creating ripples that fanned out in the pools. Danny watched as his reflection blurred with every drop. His mind was in a haze, slowly lagging through his thoughts. He had lost count of how many lashings he received versus how many he was supposed to get, although he was pretty sure they didn't quite match up.

Reflected in his own blood, he watched as Bullet raised the whip once more. 

"That's enough." 

Reluctantly, Bullet lowered it. 

"Perhaps now young Phantom has learned his lesson?" Danny kept staring into the mirror, watching with no amusement as the boy on the green stone floor became distorted. The Head Observant continued without missing a beat, "Good. Walker, Bullet. You two will relocate to its quarters to put an end to this hindrance. Make sure he stays alive."

Chains appeared around the boy in the blood and something clicked in Danny's mind. _They're going to do the same to him!_ Danny forced his head up and made eye contact with the Head Observant. He sat in front of Danny in the stands along with hundreds of other onlookers arrogantly watching with joyous anticipation. 

"Please," Danny choked out, barely even a whisper. His voice a rough, gurgling sound. His body shook as he tried not to cough more blood. He swallowed his pain, mustering up the strength to gain their attention. "Please!" The room, originally filled with a dull roar of chatter grew quiet until only Danny's heavy breathing could be heard. "You... can't—don't touch him!" Every syllable clawed at his throat as he spoke.

"How dare you tell us how to handle your transgression! Punishment will not be withheld!" The crowd roared in agreement. "You both knew the consequences of the sin you committed. You knew what lay at the end of the road you took. Now you both must suffer the outcome." 

Danny glared into the eye of the Head Observant. "I won't let you hurt him! Not anymore!" 

The ghosts in the room burst out laughing. Enraged, Danny began to summon an ectoblast. As soon as the energy solidified in his hands the chains shocked him and sucked the energy from his hand. Danny glanced around the room, watching as their shoulders shook with mirth.

"There's nothing to worry about brethren, he can't even get out of those simple chains!"

"Probably too weak to anyway."

"To think little Phantom thought he could actually threaten our power. What a foolish and naive boy." 

With every ruthless comment Danny felt smaller and smaller, but was unable to shrink away. Yet, as they continued his rage grew. "...Stop..." He hung his head, refusing to give them his direct attention.

"We're at the top, Danny Phantom. How foolish to think you would get any headway in your ridiculous plight."

"He should consider the consequences quite fortunate. Had he tainted the boy any further, punishment would have been death for them both."

"I can't believe we've been on this one for so long. We should have started on the other long ago." 

Danny clenched his fists. He couldn't believe he was hearing this. Didn't humans turn into ghosts after their death? One would think they would have at least some compassion for the boy who'd eventually become one of their own.

"Listen to me you egotistical maniacs! If you give him any sort of punishment similar to this, you'd kill him!" Danny shouted. "He can't heal as quickly as I—we can." He smirked at the Head Eyeball. "And you wouldn't want to have to wait until another child is born. Which, if I remember correctly, took ten years this time?"

The judge stared back at him, contemplating his decision. "And what is it you think you can propose?" A few eyes around him shot up in their seats wanting to complain about giving the young spirit a chance. The judge quickly raised a hand and silenced them.

Danny took a deep breath and exhaled nervously. "Let me take on his punishment. As long as it's agreed that you won't lay a single finger on him and that he stays unharmed." He was silent as he waited anxiously for their answer. Although he wasn't looking forward to what he suggested, it was an act he was willing to take. If they rejected it, he didn't know what he was going to do. He didn't ever want the boy to scream in terror like he did when they were caught.

The Head Observant cleared his throat. Danny looked up just as the Observants around the judge leaned back in their seats. "Young Phantom." Danny's core pounded inside his chest as he listened. "Your proposal has been rejected by the High Counsel of the Ancients. Punishment shall go as planned."

Danny froze. At first not sure if he had heard them right. I'll do anything. His mouth formed the syllables but his voice never came into existence.

If the Observants had visible mouths he imagined they'd all be smirking. "But, since you clearly want more..." The judge motioned at Bullet who came forward from the edge of the room. Danny managed to turn his head far enough to see the enthusiastic grin on the ghost's face. His eyes were locked on the sinister smile, unable to look away.

As though it had never happened, the whipping began once more, striking his previous wounds without remorse. Shock kept him still and mentally disconnected. He wasn't sure if the heat inside him was from the pain of each lash or if it was from the anger boiling inside him until a low growl began in the back of his throat. He closed his eyes as he summoned energy through his system, beginning to thrash. Immediately, he could feel the shocks becoming longer and harsher the more he struggled. Danny hadn't even noticed the lashes had stopped.

With a twitch of his body, ice shot out at an unsettling speed from his feet. It travelled along the floor until it hit the edge of the stands. The Observants shrieked in alarm. The ones on the lower levels, closest to the ice, jumped out of their seats and into the air. Ice engulfed the chains holding Danny’s wrists. He jerked his arms down, shattering the restraints. Every ghost was on edge as they watched the young spirit. Danny stretched his back, adjusted his shoulders and cracked his neck before finally opening his eyes again. The Head Observant leaned forward, gazing into Danny's eyes. He watched with horror as the once green irises' faded to a menacing deep red. "Take him away this instant!!" Even as Walker and Bullet contained Phantom, the boy continued to wear his infamous diabolical grin. "It's happening like we feared..."

* * *

Escorted by an unnecessary abundance of guards and locked with his hands behind his back in high security cuffs, Phantom calmly walked past the rest of the imprisoned ghosts. He peered into each jail cell, at each ghost within. Some cowered under his gaze and tried without prevail to get out of sight. Others simply made great efforts to ignore him as he passed by. One reached out from the imprisonment and grabbed Phantom's arm. He was tugged into the bars where the ghost held Phantom's chin with his free hand. 

The prisoner stared into the deep red with wonder. "...you've finally returned to us?" Phantom said nothing as he kept his neutral expression throughout the whole event. "You never were one to-" Ice crept onto the ghosts' hands, quickly taking over his arms and froze him where he stood. Phantom smiled at the terrified look on the ghosts' face. With a quick jerk of his arm, he broke of the hand holding him and kicked the rest of the heap farther into the cell. The ice began to thaw with wisps of red entering the air. 

The guards promptly surrounded Phantom, bringing him back to the center of the hall, towards his own personal cell. They opened the cell door and cautiously pushed him inside. As soon as the cuffs were removed, Phantom made to turn around when a sharp shock entered his system. 

"Sleep tight, demon," one of the guards spat as Phantom fell to the ground. After locking the only way in or out, the guards set up shifts for watches and left for their tasks.

 _...ny... Danny? ...Danny!_ The young spirit awoke with a start, sitting straight up. Almost immediately he regretted the action as his wounds awoke with the movement and alerted him to their burning presence. Danny grit his teeth as he stood. He slowly walked over to the bars, hunched over and holding his sides. "Excuse me?" The guard moved his head to the side, presenting his ear. "Where am I?"

At first Danny wasn't sure if the guard was actually laughing or not. "You are being kept here so you are unable to interfere. Worry not, as soon as your wounds heal more, you'll be released and returned home, little one." 

Danny’s green eyes scanned the surroundings as he retreated to the back of his cage. There wasn’t anything special about the cell he was placed in, except it was fairly isolated from the main holding area. Underneath his skin felt as though it had been set ablaze, the muscles on his back twitching from his sudden activity. Despite the fog clouding his mind the guard’s words finally set in. _Interfere? …The human!_

It didn't take long for Danny to hatch a plan of escape. He waited anxiously until the next shift change, since it wouldn't be the same ones monitoring him the entire time. Ghost Zone or Human Plane, some things were the same, but only a few. As soon as the guards switched, he began counting to one hundred in his head. At fifty, he stood up. Eighty was when he pretended to be casually hanging around the front of the cell. At number one hundred he reached out and froze the two guards whole. He patted them both down in search for the keys. Once he located the keys, he hastily unlocked his cell and bolted out into the air.

Danny remained visible as he floated near the ceiling, just like he had whenever he visited the room. He shot down the halls, barely stopping to check whether or not the coast was clear. As he flew in the direction of the room, he checked the ring of keys. After going through what seemed like a hundred keys he found one that he vaguely recognized as the one he saw the Observant use over a year and a half ago.

He ventured down into the depths of the darkness and stopped dead at the door. The loose keys jingled together as the main one was inserted and turned. As soon as the door was unlocked, Danny backed up and delivered a solid kick to it.

Inside, the boy had been curled up against the wall, trying to get sleep to consume him. He jolted awake seconds after Danny's foot connected with the door, making it swing all the way open and hit the wall. Light poured into the space, chasing away the darkness. The boy pushed himself up onto his feet and stood still, waiting for whatever it was to show itself. When Danny stepped into the light the boy stepped back cautiously, not recognizing the being in front of him. His hair was no longer past his back, but appeared to have been violently cut just a little above his shoulders.

Danny walked briskly towards the human who in turn backed against the wall, his body shaking as he waited for punishment. "Don't worry. It's me." 

At the sound of his voice the boy's previously grim expression brightened. He threw himself at Danny, desperately wrapping his arms around the spirit and throwing him off balance. They landed on the floor with a dull thud. Danny pushed the boy off gently, slowly checking his body for any wounds or lesions. He found a group of scratches around the boy's shoulders mixed with a few gashes that seemed to have started to heal. There was also a deep black and blue mark covering the skin all the way around his neck. 

"Are you alright? Did they hurt you?" Danny took the boy's face in his hands, inspecting it at every angle.

The boy laughed lightly. "I'm fine. Was I supposed to be?" He asked, not making any gesture to remove Danny's hands.

"I... I thought they were going to mutilate you..." Danny pulled the boy into a hug, wincing slightly when hands touched his still tender back.

Danny let go of the human and went to examine the chain links. It's so much shorter... He followed the links back to the boy's bloody ankle. "What happened to you?” he asked, inspecting the ectoplasm on his palms. “Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think you normally ooze green." 

He made eye contact with Danny who looked away after a short moment. "It's... nothing." 

With a twist of another key, the shackle broke open, releasing the boy from its rusty grip. "Come on. I'm getting you out of here." Danny hastily extended his hand.

At first the boy went to take it but retreated, as though unsure. "Out...of here?" 

"What's wrong? Don't you want to be free from this prison?"

"Yes, but..." The boy ran a hand through the tangled mess on his head. "This room is all I've known. As long as that door is shut I can't be hurt by anything out there..." He turned his attention to one of the dark corners, worried and ashamed of what Danny would think of his thought process.

"You're right. It'll all be new and confusing and potentially dangerous at every turn." The young spirit took the boy's chin in his hand, "but I'll be there with you every step of the way." Danny trailed his thumb over the boy's lips and smiled. The boy smiled back, gingerly taking Danny's hand.

Danny pulled the human to his feet and brushed some dirt off of his body. He took a step back and looked the boy over who in turn wore a questioning expression. "What?" 

Danny merely shook his head. He clasped his hands together and started to gather energy between his palms. Green light shined past his fingers. As the energy began to solidify he pulled his hands apart and within was a large black shirt with a white trim. Danny shook it out and motioned the human close.

"Lift your hands up over your head." The boy did as requested and Danny gently pulled the giant tee shirt over his head. The cloth fell over his upper body and he was both fascinated and extremely uncomfortable. As he observed the fabric, Danny created a pair of boxers and helped the human pull it on. He took a step back and looked the boy over. "There, much better."

"I don't understand." He pulled at the clothing, trying to get it away from his sensitive skin. "What's the point of these things?"

"Those are clothes. Humans and ghosts." He pulled at his turtle neck and lifted up one of his legs to show his dark cargo pants. "We all wear these to cover up our bodies. It keeps humans warmer and it has become socially unacceptable to go around without any." 

Although still confused and visibly uncomfortable in them, the boy stopped tugging at the clothes. 

"These won't last very long though. They're made out of my ectoplasm, so as soon as we reach the Human Realm we'll have to get you something more suitable." Danny extended his hand again and this time the boy took it without hesitation. "We need to hurry if we don't want to get caught."

Together, they walked out of the room and shut the door behind them. They took a few steps forward until they reached the stairs. Danny looked up the stairway and mentally pictured the long way out. Walking wouldn't be much of an option for the human, having never really had a chance to exercise his legs. "Do you trust me?" 

The human nodded suspiciously. "What are you doin-woh!" 

Danny lifted the human into his arms; one arm under his knees and one on his upper back. He slowly flew to the ceiling. Terrified, the boy wrapped his arms around Danny's neck and buried his face into the ghost's shoulder. Within seconds they became invisible. He held on tightly as the young spirit soared through the air, turning sharply at the corners and bolting down the hallways.

They turned at another corner. Danny could see the exit just a few halls down. He rushed for it when Walker and Bullet came from one of the side rooms, unknowingly coming in between them and their freedom. Danny swore under his breath and retreated back behind the wall. "Stay here. I'll be back." He lowered the boy to his feet and peered around the corner.

The boy's eyes widened at the thought of being left alone, even for a second. His hand shot out and grabbed Danny's sleeve in an iron grip. "No... please don't leave me..." he said, the boy's body shaking as he pleaded for him to stay.

"I won't be gone long. Only a few seconds." The boy vigorously shook his head in disapproval. Danny stared down at his pleading expression. He could feel the boy's grip tighten on his sleeve as he tried to take a step back. Sighing in defeat, he leaned in close, gathering the trembling human into a hug. He leaned away to look into the boy's eyes. "Alright. You win." Danny cupped the boy's cheek with his palm, instantly feeling the human's warmth crawling over his skin. "We'll find another way." He offered his best smile but deep down he wasn't sure how much longer they had until someone noticed one of them was missing. Then a whole search would be instigated against them. He couldn't explain it, but he felt deep in his core that if they didn't get out soon...

Danny's mind was dragged back into the present when he felt the boy suddenly tense in his arms. He leaned into Danny's chest, hiding his face, clutching the cloth in his shaking hands. It was then when Danny realized there were footsteps coming towards them from around the corner. Walker and Bullet are coming! Acting on impulse, he scooped the boy into his arms and bolted back down the hall from which they came.

After rounding many corners and having to retrace his steps a few times they came upon the prison ward where Danny had been previously escorted through after his retribution. The boy looked up from Danny's shoulder into the cells as they slowly floated by, invisible. It didn't surprise him that they went by unnoticed, but as they passed one specific cell he was caught off guard. The boy flinched away from the bars, burying his face against his ghost's neck again. Danny's eyes drifted over to where the human's attention had been seconds before. 

Inside the cell stood a burly, gray ghost who wore old fashioned Crusade-like clothing. The prisoner's arm appeared to be slowly reforming from a recent injury. It took a few moments for him to realize that the ghost was staring directly at them. Instinctively, Phantom tightened his hold on his human. Noticing the act, the ghost smirked. "I see that hasn't changed." The prisoner's teasing smile quickly died as he watched the vibrant green eyes, locked with his, flash red.

He couldn't decide whether he wanted to get as far away as possible from this particular ghost or to get closer and listen to what he had to say. "What are you—" Danny whipped his head back, staring down the empty hallway. Further down, he could hear a large commotion making its way towards them. It was time to go. "Hold on tight." In response, the boy wrapped his arms around the ghost's neck, hooking his hands around his wrists. Danny leaned his head against the boy's. He smiled, "Let's get you out of here." After glancing over at the prisoner once more, he took off through the rest of the cell block towards the exit.

* * *

It wasn't until they were a couple of hours from the Observant's realm did they finally slow down. Danny twirled his fingers through the human's hair. "Welcome to the Ghost Zone," he whispered into his ear. 

The boy lifted his head and looked around the Zone for the first time in his life. His eyes darted in every direction, trying to take in as much as possible. As they passed through a tunnel, he stretched his arm out to feel the gooey edges. The boy smiled, eyes filled with awe, as they floated through the Ghost Zone.

Danny couldn't help but smile. The human that he felt some bizarre connection with, the only one who captivated his interest, was safe and in his arms. He had done it, they were both free... Almost. You're not out of the woods yet. The thought surprised him, clawing its way to the surface from the depths of his mind. He quickly glanced around for something that might have set it off, but there was nothing. It gave him the feeling of being watched. He suddenly wanted to pick up the pace and just get out of there. 

"What are those doors?" 

Danny stopped. His eyes followed the boy's hand until they rested on a spiked door a few yards away. He hadn’t even noticed when they began flying through a field of doors.

"They're lairs. Every ghost has one. They're kind of like personalized sections of the Ghost Zone." He flew close enough to a few of the doors to allow the human to touch them. His fingernails scrapped across from side to side, over all the little dips and designs.

"What's yours like?" The boy retracted his hand and stared up at Danny with excited curiosity. "Can I see it?"

"Uh... I actually don't have one."

The boy lowered his head, his excited smile fading. "Oh... I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm not. Besides, it just means that the entire Ghost Zone is my home." Danny rubbed his hand on the boy's back in an attempt to reassure him. "Come on. Don't worry about it. Besides, even if I did have my own door I doubt I'd ever be allowed anywhere near it after this."

"What do you—"

"We're here." 

In front of them floated a long piece of rock that lead to a mystifying green swirling portal. Danny calmly flew down and helped the boy onto his feet. At first he stayed still, stomping his foot down on the surface. "It won't crumble, ya'know." Danny had to stifle a laugh after he saw the glare he received in response.

The human took a few steps forward, testing the ground. Finally his eyes drifted up, following the road like structure. "What... what is that over there?"

"That's the Fenton Ghost Portal." The young spirit walked up beside the human, interlacing their hands. "It's our way out."

"So..." The hand around Danny's tightened. He could feel it shaking in his. "On the other side of that is the Human World?" The boy's attention, which was previously locked on the portal flicked back to the ghost at his side. He stared into the bright green eyes, not sure what he was looking for.

"I'll be with you every step of the way." He repeated with a reassuring smile. After a few moments, he broke the tense silence. "Are you ready?" Danny watched as the human's eyes danced back to the portal. He slowly nodded, as if unsure if he truly was. Danny glanced over to the portal, flashes of his last trip coming back to him. To think he was willingly choosing this portal instead of any one of the natural portals after almost being obliterated on his return to the Ghost Zone.

From the information he received from Clockwork, Danny only vaguely knew what advances the Fenton family had made. The inventions that were on the market and frequently used by the Guys In White were the ones he knew best. Although no great inventor releases all of their successes for use. He was also aware that the boy had an older sister. Having never met her, she was a mystery except for a basic description from Johnny 13. For the time being, telling the boy that these were his parents would have to wait. At least until he was capable of truly reentering their world.

Invisibility overcame the two and they took their first step towards the portal. They stood right in front of it when they came to a halt. Danny turned back to the human who was visibly shaking. "I... I don't... th-thin..k..."

"You can do this. It'll be fine." He gently cupped the boy's cheek in his free hand. "Trust me." The boy gulped, readjusting his hand in the ghost’s. His lips moved but no sound came out. Hesitantly, they both stepped through the portal dividing the two worlds.

Bright lights blinded them as they arrived on the other side. The hustle and bustle of lab work absolutely surrounded them. On the tables were numerous beakers filled with ectoplasm, a few of them occasionally bubbling over. "Jack, hurry, they're ready!" A woman in a blue jumpsuit put down her scalpels in order to help her husband with his own experiment.

On the other side of the room stood a very big man in an orange jumpsuit. When he heard his wife's voice he quickly turned around to attend to the overflowing beakers. Multiple beeping sounds erupted into the air as ten different pieces of equipment all went off at once. Before separating again, Jack wrapped his arm around his wife's waist and delivered a quick but passionate kiss to her lips. "Thanks, Mads. You're the best." Without missing a beat, they both returned to their own work on opposite sides of the basement.

The newly arrived ghost and human pair stood frozen in front of the portal, neither daring to make a sound. Whenever one of the scientists had to cross the lab, the two new arrivals leaned back to get out of the way, even though there was plenty of space between them. Every movement was accompanied by a loud sound that echoed throughout the basement. One in particular, a mini explosion from one of the guns caused the boy to jump. Clinging to his ghost’s back and having a death grip on his hand, the boy buried his head between Danny’s shoulder blades in hopes of blocking out the lights and sounds. 

In a vain attempt to comfort the shaking human, Danny reached back and patted the boy’s head. “It’s going to be fine,” he whispered, preparing to walk right through the lab and past the overly energetic scientists. “Just stay close to me.” 

With the boy practically hiding behind him, Danny gingerly took a step. As soon as his foot hit the ground a bolt of electricity shot up from the floor and traveled through his system. What seemed like a million alarms blared as the shock entered his body. Danny doubled over, clutching his core with his free hand as the volts seemed to target his very being. Well… that’s new. Lifting his head, he stumbled back. His vision was blurry with spots and his head spun.

It only took a few seconds for his awareness to fully return. Lights were flashing red in all corners of the room and the scientists were no longer working. Instead, they stood between them and the door, guns loaded and pointing wholly at him. Danny stiffened, how? His eyes followed Maddie’s hand as it traveled up the side of her head to turn on a switch in her goggles.

“You can stand there pretending to hide all you want, ghost! It’ll just give us a clearer shot!” Danny’s eyes grew wide at the realization. Neither boy knew which one of their hands was the one shaking. “That’s right ghost, we can still see you.” Maddie smirked, the pure joy of bringing down another ghost flooded her system.

"Prepare to die, ghost!" Jack hollered. Maddie quickly looked the ghost over through her scope. Obviously male, but he looked like he could be a normal 15 year old boy… the same age as her son would have been. Maddie adjusted her grip on the rifle-like Fenton weapon in her arms.

Without moving an inch, Danny’s eyes warily found their way to Jack who held what appeared to be an automatic shotgun with the Fenton logo on it. Subtly tilting his head to the side he whispered, "Yrrow t'nod-"

Seeing the vile creature's lips moving put her on edge. Typically when a specter was unwise enough to trespass in their own lab, as soon as the alarms went off and their barrels were pointed at it, the waste-of-space would attack. But this ghost was clearly up to something new. It wasn't lunging forward to attack or screaming at either of them in what her and Jack figured was a sort of ghost language. Looking the ghost up and down once more only gave her one more piece of information. "Who are you conspiring with ghost?! Show yourself!" Maddie watched as the ghost's arm moved behind its back, fingers twitching around another hand.

This was bad. There was no way he'd be able to move at his full speed and carry the boy at the same time. Danny was prepared to use himself as a shield if it came down to that. It terrified him. Everything that the Fenton's invented could do serious if not fatal damage to a ghost. They no longer wanted to capture and study ghosts. Interrogate and kill was the Fenton's main objective. All for the continuous search for their lost baby boy, the one cowering behind the very ghost in front of them. It had been so many years since the incident. Many other ghosts wondered if they were still searching, if nothing else, to find a body for closure.

The hands holding Danny's clothes shook violently as the Fenton pair raised their guns. I have to get him out of here now! Two clicks and two red dots appeared on his body; one aiming for his core and the other at his head. "Thgit no dloh!" Two trembling arms quickly wrapped themselves around Danny's waist. Without hesitating, Danny crouched and shot into the air. As they phased through the ceiling he could hear the ecto-gun charging right before the trigger was pulled.

They reemerged into a living room. To their right was the entrance to the kitchen, to their left a set of stairs and behind them, the front door leading out. Before he had a chance to dash for the exit Danny seized up. They became visible and fell to the floor with two loud thuds and a curse. The human peeled himself from the ghost and rolled him over onto his back. "Ko uoy era? Gnorw s'tahw?" The boy placed a hand on the ghost's chest just as one would do to check the heartbeat of another human.

"Kciht oot si ria eht ,ffo s'gnihtemos ...tsuj ... thgirla m'I." Danny rested a hand on the boy's in reassurance. He could see the anxious look in his eyes. As Danny was the only thing in he boy's life that was positive, if anything happened to him the boy would be completely alone. Most likely captured and forcibly dragged by the hair back into the ghost zone to spend the rest of his life, if not executed upon return. 

Danny pushed himself up from his elbows, gritting his teeth throughout the process. He opened his mouth to say something when Maddie kicked the lab door open and from behind her Jack pointed, aimed and fired his ecto-gun. Without even thinking or knowing where the shot was coming from, Danny pushed the boy away from him. He fell backwards to the floor as the shot hit Danny square in the back. 

"Good job, honey!" Maddie reached into one of her many pockets and pulled out a cookie, handing it to her husband who gratefully munched on it.

They stepped out of the doorframe one at a time, each with a body in their scopes. The black haired one was still on the floor. His entire frame looked weak and dangerously thin for any creature. His arms wobbled as he tried and failed to push himself up. 

Deeming that particular entity non-threatening for the moment, Jack turned his sights on the pearl white-haired ghost who had just extracted himself from the hole in the wall. "Stay still, ghost!" The specter rolled onto his stomach and warily stood. He lifted his head and Jack could see the fire burning in its harsh green eyes. There was no way it'd let them get another perfect shot like before.

Ectoplasm dripped from the ghost's back and head, dying a few strands an eerie green. A slow stream oozed from the wound. The substance covered the hole in the wall with a couple small splatters.

“This is the end of the line for you, ghost! Once we’re done with you, it’s your accomplice’s turn.” Jack’s eyes quickly darted to the other entity. It gave off the proper expressions of terror. The hunter smiled, “Don’t worry, ghost, you’re next.”

The white haired spirit became visibly angry, almost infuriated despite it’s current condition. “Eid dna mih hcuot!” The ghost hissed. Its hands rose in front of its face. Green began to glow around it for an ectoblast until the color seeped back into the air. The ghost glared at them, angry and confused.

The Fentons smirked. “Pretty soon you won’t be able to do anything, ghost,” Maddie said. “The air in our house has anti ghost properties. Soon you won’t be able to even move.”

Slowly, its body slid into a fighting stance. The young spirit lunged forward, at the same time Jack and Maddie fired. The ghost dodged artfully every shot as it circled around the room. It screamed as it flew across the space with Jack right in its path. Maddie thought quickly and retrieved her ectostaff from her suit and slammed it into the ghost’s back, sending it down through the floor. With one less entity to worry about for the time being, they both turned to the other intruder who remained unmoving.

The boy crawled away as the two scientists walked up to him. Maddie swung her staff, striking the ground right by the boy’s hand, halting any further attempt to put more distance between them. Jack looked to Maddie, waiting for the decision as she inspected the entity up close for the first time. She gave him a nod and he raised his weapon to the boy’s head. The tip of the gun pointed directly between his horrified eyes.

A click echoed in the room followed by the gun’s steady charging. The boy closed his eyes and turned away, the gun following his movements. As Jack pulled the trigger Danny shot up from the basement. He quickly wrapped his arms around the boy and dragged him along as he flew through the ceiling. They disappeared just as the ecto-charged blast smashed into the floor, accompanied with a large explosion and burn mark.

The two intruders came up through the floor into a nursery. Almost everything was the same as it was at the time of the boy’s birth. The walls were a baby blue and covered in dust along with everything else in the room from almost 15 years of inactivity. There was a crib in the corner, filled with little pillows and small baby blankets. However, the mobile was crushed on the ground, pieces of the ghost shaped ornaments scattered on the floor. The curtains were on the ground as if yanked from their proper position above the window. Danny wandered around the room, inspecting every inch while the boy, whose room it belonged to, sat in the middle. He picked up a pillow from the crib and turned it over in his hands. The name Daniel was lovingly stitched into it, along with every other fabric covered object around them.

_“IT doesn’t have a name. Once you name something you begin to get attached to it. As soon as ghosts name IT, they’ll sympathize with it and won’t be able to give their burden onto it solely and fully-“_

Danny looked up from the pillow and glanced over to the boy, to Daniel. He replaced the little pillow back inside the crib, his eyes scanning over the rest of the trinkets that had been waiting years for a child to enjoy them.

From the hallway, Jack and Maddie stood by the stairs. Each staring at the door to the room that the two intruders had invaded with tears in their eyes. Jack took a few steps forward when his wife called out to him in a chocked whisper. “I… can’t.” She clung to the wall, her weapon still at the ready in her arms. “That’s Daniel’s room…”

Jack embraced his wife. “I know, Mads. Doing this again- toying with our emotions like this is unforgivable.” It was a quick hug for there was a serious piece of filth that they both knew needed to be dealt with. Jack headed toward the door, gun held tightly in his arms while Maddie stayed where she was, unable to go into the room just yet.

Without any hesitation, Jack kicked the door open, readying his weapon as his foot touched down on the ground again. “How dare you insult us by hiding in here!” 

The black haired entity flinched, locked in his sights. He slowly raised his scope as he found the other spirit. Rage began to cloud his mind as he realized the ghost was standing by the crib, the contents disturbed. How.Dare.it! He pointed the ecto-gun at the ghost but his hands betrayed him as they shook. What if he missed and hit the crib? Neither him nor Maddie or Jazz could deal with another piece of Daniel destroyed. Unable to stand the risk, he averted his sights to the other entity in the room.

As his finger tightened around the trigger, the white haired ghost, again, did something he wasn’t expecting. It moved in front of the other being as though acting as a shield. Although caught a bit off guard it didn’t stop him for more than a mere second. His hands steadied and took aim. The look on the spirit’s face was of pure determination whereas Jack’s was full of rage and inner pain. The gun began to ring. The noise steadily grew along with the boy’s eyes, fully aware of what that noise meant. “Prepare to meet your final end…”

The ringing was at its peak, “Ynnad!” The boy lunged forward, wrapping his arms around Danny’s waist. At the sound of Daniel’s voice Danny shot up into the air as the ball of anti ghost matter erupted from Jack’s gun, slamming into the ground. Three more shots chased after them before they finally phased through the window.

Fresh and cold air smacked against them as soon as they were free from the building. Without any specific destination in mind, Danny picked a direction and continued that way. Feeling Daniel’s arms wrapped tightly around his body he turned them invisible and flew through the evening sky. Unbeknownst to the pair, a girl watched them leave from street level before walking into the very same building.

“Mom? Dad? I’m home.” The girl quietly locked the door behind her. She strolled into the kitchen, washed her hands and picked an apple from a basket on the table. A chunk of the apple was torn off as the girl peeked behind the lab door. “Mom? Dad? You down there?” Met with only silence she continued upstairs, her bag slung leisurely over her shoulder.

The apple fell onto the ground as she stood at the top of the stairwell. Down the hall the door to what was still her missing little brother’s room was wide open, the old unused lighting inside casting a dull glow into the hallway. The number of times her parents entered the room was so small she could count the occasions on her fingers. Ghost attacks had significantly decreased in the past few years. The raw ectoplasmic entities most likely getting the hint that their own destruction awaited if they laid foot or tail in Amity Park alone.

She arrived at the doorway, her bag forgotten on the floor behind her. Her mother stood in front of the crib, a blanket held tightly in her arms. Her father stood beside her, one hand on his wife’s shoulder and an ecto-gun in the other. “What happened?”

“A pair of ghosts came through here Jazzinpants. Trying to terrorize and mock our family again.” 

It was then Jazz noticed the scorch marks along the wall and floor. Ghosts had come here before, purposefully entering this room just to rub salt into their wounds. Her parents had chased them every time, but they rarely shot once they entered the nursery. Jazz figured the two ghosts must have done something serious for her parents to shoot in Daniel’s room.

“They got away didn’t they?” She could see her mother’s shoulders shaking. “Did… did you get any evidence on who they were, where they’ll be or what they came for?” She didn’t want to mention what she saw before returning home. How those two ‘ghosts’ flew off, one clinging desperately to the other as though he couldn’t fly alone.

Jack shook his head. “No, other than the basic surveillance.”

“Did they say anything?”

Maddie put the baby blanket back in the crib and turned away from it. “Yes, but it wasn’t any human language.”

“Why not use the Ghost Gabber then?”

“Great idea, Jazzerincess!” With a wide smile on his face, Jack grabbed Maddie and Jazz, dragging them to the master bedroom. He kicked the circular rug away, “Three to the Ops Center!” He yelled enthusiastically. The three of them were instantly transported into the fridge where the door automatically opened.

Jack, Maddie and Jazz all rushed over to the screens where Maddie sat at the controls and brought up the security footage. She flipped the switch for the Ghost Gabber to automatically translate any sort of ghost language into words they use every day. The system was much newer and improved from their first attempt at the device.

After a little white noise and static, the footage started. It began in the lab. The three of them watched as the two ghosts, appearing only a little fuzzy on the cameras, took their first steps through the portal. They watched as the events unfolded, turning the volume up to the maximum as they strained to hear what the ghosts whispered between each other.

The two specters collapsed in the living room on the screen. “Why isn’t that one affected by the air?” Maddie wondered aloud. Jack grunted to show his own curiosity in the observation. Jazz on the other hand wasn’t as interested in the ‘whys’ her parents were asking. There was something about those two, the way that black haired one clung to the other and just the way they interacted in general.

She couldn’t help but wince a little at the ear piercing crack that exploded through the speakers when the ghost slammed into the wall. Her eyes darted back and forth between the two as this was the first time she was able to see them on their own. _What would Daniel of looked like if he was here?_ The thought startled her. Why had that crossed her mind now instead of at any of the other times she thought about her missing little brother within the years. She shook her head, banishing the thoughts for now.

 _“Touch him and die!”_ Venom dripped from every syllable. For some reason, neither Jack nor Maddie caught how angry the ghost had been at the time until they heard him in plain English. Jazz gaped at the screen as she continued to watch.

The white haired spirit had just been hit with Maddie’s staff when the screens split, showing the lab and the living room at once. The ghost hit the basement floor hard. He rolled onto his side and lifted his head as he pushed himself up. The boy on the other screen looked like a terrified, cornered animal as the weapons were raised against him. A bit of red caught Jazz’s eye on the other screen before the two merged together showing the two fly up through the ceiling.

The two intruders surprised her once more. Unlike past ghosts, they didn’t immediately try destroying the only mementos they had of Daniel left. In fact, as one walked over to the crib she noted he looked… sad. Jazz hadn’t noticed she had leaned closer to the screen until her father suddenly burst into the shot making her jump back. “Strange. That one hasn’t moved, almost like it’s unable.”

“And the other knows and is protecting him.”

“Jazz, sweetie, these things don’t have feelings. In their world they’re each on their own. They have no need for compa-” The buzzing of her father’s gun roared through the speakers, causing them to vibrate from the intense volume. _“Danny!”_

Jack’s hand smashed against the counter. Maddie’s hands moved to cover her gasp. The tape continued to play, but the voice kept ringing through the room. Tears silently fell. It was like a new level of cruelty. Danny… Daniel. They leaned on each other as they cried. Jazz shut her eyes, feeling the warm tears crawl down her cheeks. That name was screamed in a panic without any thought. Even if it had been staged, plans go out the window when genuine panic sets in. Panic and anger dull the line between the truth and the lies. Did that mean it wasn’t intentional? To rip their hearts out after they built the walls. After they thought they had finally healed. It was another thing to add to the list about those two that didn’t match up with regular ghosts.

Out in the city, Danny flew just above the highest building. The arms wrapped around his waist shook from the chilly night air. His eyes scanned the structures below them, searching for a safe place to stay for the night. He had no idea if they were being followed either by the Fentons or by any one of the thousands of ghosts from the Ghost Zone. Surely one of them would have noticed the boy’s absence by now and left to search for him.

Daniel’s arms loosened slightly from Danny’s waist before squeezing him again. Was he falling asleep? “How are you holding up?” The only response he received was a long yawn. Danny quickly flew towards the first semi-suitable building he saw. They phased through the dilapidated wall and floated through the halls. Picking a random room, they phased through the door and soon collapsed on the ground in exhaustion.

“We’ll find a better place tomorrow,” Danny said as he leaned his back against a wall. Daniel crawled over to him, resting his head on the ghost’s lap. A quiet sigh of fatigue echoed seamlessly around the dark room. The only light source came from the half broken window partially blocked by ripped curtains across from them. Danny gently laced his fingers through the boy’s hair, massaging his scalp.

They laid there in silence as the sounds of the night silently bounced off the walls. The boy’s breathing was slow and even, Danny was sure the human had finally fallen asleep. He looked down at the calm expression on the boy’s face. He would no longer be tortured by the many ghosts who came to him. He could finally be free of it all and have a normal human life. A small voice quickly brought him out of his thoughts. “…Thank you.” Despite being right next to the source, the words were so soft spoken and came lightly to his ears.

Daniel turned his head towards the ghost. Their eyes locked. He stared into the deep blue irises, wondering what they themselves were looking for in his green. “Just get some sleep.” His thumb lightly trailed back and forth over the human’s cheek. “It’ll be a long day tomorrow.” As soon as Danny was sure the boy was asleep, he began to twirl a lock of Daniel’s long black hair between his fingers as he waited for dawn.


	5. Autumn

Throughout that first night Daniel experienced night terrors. Every few hours he would wake up in a cold sweat, immediately reaching out for the one comfort he had, Danny. Every time the ghost would hold the human gently in his arms, rubbing his back in soothing circles. He would wipe away the occasional tear that escaped from the boy’s eyes. “Shh… I’m right here. You’re fine, safe and sound.” But the boy still clung to the ghost until fatigue finally caught back up to him and he would fall asleep again.

The morning light poured in through the partially destroyed window. Daniel yawned, stretching his limbs out as far as they could go. He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes after letting loose one last yawn. Daniel opened his eyes. It was then when he realized he was alone. His head whipped around, blue eyes scanning the broken down room he slept in during the night, desperately looking for any sort of sign that the ghost had actually been there with him. But there was nothing out of sort, nothing that could truly tell him he wasn’t alone. “He… left me?” The boy wondered aloud.

Alone. Just as he’d been his entire life. The only difference between then and now was the location. What if he was actually dreaming? What if everything that had happened since Danny last came to his cell was all a dream. That he was still in that dark, lonely room the whole time. What if, when Walker came and ripped that cold hand from his, they took him away for good; truly making sure that Danny would never visit him again. Daniel doubted, with his incredible lack of knowledge on anything outside his room, that he’d be able to imagine it all. Dream or not. There were tons of ghosts in the Ghost Zone that came to see him and all of them with their own special power above the norm. It was possible this whole thing was a new form of torture, his punishment for wanting to smile. Letting him believe he was free only to slowly tear his heart out.

An incredible sense of emptiness washed over him. It was as though his body was trying to eat him from the inside out. Daniel fell forward, clutching his middle and biting his lip. While waiting in silence, he could only hope his dream would end so he could hurry and wake up to the nightmare that was his reality.

Again, with his lack of knowledge he had no idea how to tell if what he was experiencing was real or not. As much as he didn’t want it to end, he wasn’t sure how much his heart would be able to take as soon as the floor was swept out from under him and he fell into the darkness left behind.

The room was silent apart from the occasional breeze sailing in from the window. The only thing he could do was try to will himself awake, to end the fantasy before his heart grew too attached. Eyes closed tightly as he rolled onto his side. He quickly reopened them, expecting to see the familiar darkness he was accustomed too. But instead was faced with the same image from when he began. Daniel repeated the act until tears began to stream down his face. He didn’t want to wake up and see the darkness, but if he didn’t it’d only mean he was abandoned by the first being he had opened up to and trusted.

Long and jagged fingernails dug into his bare sides, the ectoplasm clothing having already vanished. The hollowness in his middle felt like it had tripled. Daniel groaned in discomfort, as the malaise spread throughout his body. Curling in on himself only seemed to minimally reduce the pain. Fresh tears began to weld up in his eyes as each breath sent a new wave of emptiness throughout his entire body. Yet he quickened his breathing, noting how it got worse when he exhaled.

Teeth clenched, eyes shut tight and nails buried in his skin. His hands trembled as a strange warmth started to seep between his fingers. The back of his throat began to feel scratchy and dry with each new breath. As the next wave washed out of his system an abnormally cold breeze flooded into the room. The cold air hit his exposed back, awakening his dulled alert system.

Blue eyes flew open as a pair of shaking arms pushed against the dirt covered floor. The pain subsided temporarily as panic rose. While there was no one there apart from him, he had an overwhelming sense something was coming. With his heart racing, Daniel pushed himself up onto his feet. His legs felt like jelly as they violently shook from under him. Hands quickly reached out for the wall in order to steady him. The support only lasted until he took his first step where he plummeted to the floor.

Confused, scared and too weak to walk Daniel dragged himself across the room. He dug his fingers into any nook or cranny he could reach and pulled himself forward, his useless legs trailing behind him. By the time he reached the askew closet door he was exhausted. His arms felt heavy as he pulled the door towards him in order to create a bigger space to crawl through. With his arms holding the door, he painstakingly inched his way inside the dark closet.

By the time another frigid gust of wind blew into the room, Daniel was curled in the darkest corner of his hiding spot. The breeze weaved its way through the cracks and wrapped around his body. Daniel hugged his knees to his chest as he shivered. _Please don’t let them find me…_

With several plastic bags hanging from his arms and a large blue blanket on his shoulders, Danny phased through the wall. He was about to announce himself when he spotted a few drops of red on the floor. Green eyes scanned the room, following the small trail of blood to the closet. Bags slowly dropped onto the ground followed by a pair of feet. “Daniel?” He took a step towards the closet, hoping to hear something. Anything that would destroy the image of Daniel’s dead body in the closet he had in his mind.

“Are you there? It’s me.” He stood in front of the broken doors, his aura casting dull rays of light though the cracks. Deciding it’d probably be unwise to just phase in and giving the already scared human a heart attack, he pulled back the door and peeked inside. A broken human shell was curled up in the corner. Danny breathed a sigh of relief, “Thank god you’re ok.” He extended his arm out to the boy. “Come on; let’s get you out of here.”

The boy took his hand without hesitation and practically lunged at the ghost. “You left me. You left me. You said you wouldn’t… leave me…. was alone… scared… said you wouldn’t…” Danny held the boy as he cried into his shoulder. The boy’s body shook with every sob and he couldn’t help but feel guilty.

“I’m sorry. I had to get you a few things. I imagined you would have slept in a little longer.” He motioned towards the bags and blanket discarded a couple feet away from them. “I figured you’d need actual clothes by this time and I guess I was right.” Danny commented, placing his cold hand on the boy’s shoulder causing a shiver to pass through his body.

Leaning forward, Danny gently pushed the boy back until he was able to sit upright. He was about to get up when a pair of trembling arms stopped him. The ghost looked down at the still terrified human feeling his core break at the sight. “I won’t leave again.” He rested his hands on Daniel’s. “Come on, I’ve got a few things for you. Must be cold and hungry by now.” As he spoke he slowly extracted the arms from him making sure to keep hold of one.

Danny opened the first plastic bag, the noise not helping Daniel’s mental state, and pulled out a few different sized boxers, jeans and white red trimmed baggy tee shirts. He couldn’t help cracking up when Daniel’s face scrunched up into displeasure at the sight. “You can’t go outside butt naked. Try them on. I didn’t know your size so we’ll just have to do trial and error.” Much to the human’s dismay he did as told. The first was so loose it wouldn’t stay around such skinny hips while the second made red lines on Daniel’s pale skin after only a few seconds of being on. The last pair was a success. Even something the boy could grow into a little. As soon as the fit was clear to both Daniel began to take the boxers back off. “Hey. Keep them on. You still have the shirts and jeans to go.” With a groan the human reluctantly went through the rest. They were lucky to have one of each article that fit the boy relatively well.

The next item on the immediate to do list was food, breakfast. When Danny turned for the grocery bag Daniel took that opportunity to strip himself of the shirt and unbutton the baggy jeans. “No. Leave them on.”

Daniel adamantly shook his head. “It’s scratchy…”

The ghost sighed and put down the box of Frootloops cereal. “I think you mean foreign.” The ghost pulled the jeans back up, re buttoned them and pulled the shirt back over the human. “It’ll be warmer with it on. As for the feeling…. you’ll get used to it.” Daniel pouted but didn’t say anything else against it. He reached out and took hold of Danny’s clothes. First the black and white trimmed jacket, feeling the fabric between his fingers before moving onto the black turtle neck. That one felt much softer. He couldn’t help running his whole hands over the material.

As Daniel pretty much explored Danny’s body there was a bit of a realization. They currently resided in some broken down building that could be scheduled to be demolished soon for all they knew. It was cold, dirty and not a place that said safe. It’d be best to relocate. Breakfast could wait. With all the ectoplasm lingering in Daniel’s skin the boy wouldn’t be feeling serious hunger for a while. Not until it vanished. However that was another issue. Nowadays there were so many buildings equipped with Fenton Ghost Detectors. The levels of ectoplasm accumulated in Daniel’s system could easily set one off and being hunted by the Fentons was the last thing they needed.

“Hey.” Danny collected the human’s hands in his again. “Why don’t we move to a more suitable place? What do you say, Daniel?”

The boy flinched. He stared into the vibrant eyes of the ghost before him. “What did you call me?” A mixture of confusion and hope on his features.

“Daniel. Your name, one that’s long over due. Do you not like it? Maybe prefer something else….?” Was it too soon? The human couldn’t read so there was no way he’d have recognized it from the Fenton’s.

“N-no. That’s.. not it. Just…” A big smile spread over his face as he beamed at his ghost. “I love it!” Finally. He had something he could call his own. A name. No longer ‘it’ that the ghosts always spat with disgust whenever they talked about him. Daniel tested his name out himself, loving the sound each time. He felt more human; like he had an identity now, one that had been taken from him and never returned before. “… can you… um… say it again? Please?”

“Daniel.” Any tension still residing in his system left. It felt so good to be addressed that way. He never thought someone would care about him enough to give him the luxury of a name. He wanted Danny to say his name again and again in so many different ways.

It was heartwarming so see the level of joy the boy was experiencing just from the simple… no not simple. Names were things everyone but him had the privilege of since birth. His was stripped away along with everything else. But Danny would fix that. Give each thing lost back to the human one by one when he could. But first… ”So how about it? You alright with a bit of travel?” Daniel happily nodded and helped Danny pack up the rest of the supplies that mattered.

Two blankets, folded and placed on top of each other and a bag of basic groceries. Daniel held them tight to his chest while Danny held him as he flew invisible through the air. The ghost had explained about ghost detection equipment. It sounded mostly like nonsense but the message was clear. If they send one of the alarms off they were dead. While it could save them from any ghost searching for them from the Ghost Zone it was a double edged sword. Apparently spending 14 years in the Ghost Zone greatly affected the human body. Not only could Danny set off the detectors, so could Daniel. The amount of ectoplasm that had seeped in and still lingered in his body would make him appear as a ghost. Other effects got a quick explanation too. How the ectoplasm masked hunger among other things. That over time Daniel would feel hungrier and hungrier as the ectoplasm left his body. It didn’t seem like that big of a deal or intense of an issue. However, it also helped support his muscles. Since he had a hard time standing or moving already, that was definitely worrisome. But it would be okay. Danny was with him. The ghost mentioned a plan. Everything would work out… he hoped.

Daniel had fallen asleep in the ghost’s arms, still exhausted from the previous night. The cool autumn breeze and light rays of the sun soothing him. Especially the sun. It was so bizarre yet so relaxing. Normally he was surrounded by darkness and chilly damp air that kept him awake. The light that covered the buildings warmed everything even the jeans covering his legs. A small smile had crept onto his face when the thick scars around his ankles from the shackles were warmed by the sun’s rays.

As sweet as the human’s sleeping face was, they had arrived. Danny nudged the boy awake. He yawned and rubbed his eyes before turning his head toward their actual new home. The building itself was newly remodeled to fit the rest of the neighborhoods of Amity Park, even though it was located towards the edge of town. They were lucky. The apartments in that area hadn’t been equipped with detectors. The buildings were too old and didn’t have the proper energy inputs to accommodate the mass amount needed to keep that kind of system running. The apartment building was eight stories and had a small garden with various flowers on either side of the main entrance stairs. They were still outside, still unseen by everyone who passed close to them. Whenever someone stepped too close or walked through them Daniel freaked and grabbed a handful of Danny’s shirt in panic.

Danny quickly kicked off the ground flying up the stairs and through the front doors, wanting to get Daniel off the street. “There was a room on the 7th floor that was for rent.” He whispered not wanting to be heard by anyone else. “I found this place while I was out and already stole the key.”

A few floors later they became visible in front of apartment 724. Danny put the human down, catching him as he stumbled from his weak legs. They’d have to work on that fast. The ghost handed the boy the key and he gladly took it. However faced with the door he had no idea what to do next. “Here, like this.” Danny reached his arms around the human gently laying his hand on top Daniel’s. He positioned the key in the boy’s hand and guided it through the lock until they heard a click. Daniel stepped forward and pushed the door open.

The apartment had lightly tinted wooden floors and smoke white walls. On the left was a marble island countertop lined with three stools in front of the kitchen along with the bathroom a little farther down. Straight ahead was a huge, long window with soft curtains pulled to either side. Light poured into the common, living room space equipped with a small two person couch and low table with a lamp in the corner. To their right there were two bedrooms, one on either side of the hall both about the same size.

“Welcome home, Daniel.” It was a perfect place they could officially call home. Home. What a foreign word. One that he wouldn’t be able to deny wishing for. A home was supposed to mean a place where one spent their life. Wouldn’t that make that dark room in the Ghost Zone his home? Daniel didn’t miss that horror in the slightest and it wasn’t safe like a home was meant to be. No. Apartment 724 with Danny was his home now. Nothing else. Nothing less.


	6. Early Winter

“Please calm yourself brethren.”

“How dare you! The human has gone missing, Phantom is nowhere to be found and no one knows a thing. Even that stubborn Clockwork won’t say a word as per usual! You can’t expect me to relax knowing that.”

“It’s true! Destruction is upon us-“

“If you Observants are so concerned with getting that human back why don’t you send some of us out to search the human world? Its obviously no longer in the Ghost Zone.” The speaker projected his voice over the loud chatter of the room. The eyeballs ceased their inner squabbling to address the newest proposal.

“That thing would turn out to be a lot dumber than I thought if it stayed around here.” A few ghosts close enough to hear the comment laughed in agreement.

This option was new. Something that none of the Watchers had seen fail along with everything else. However that would depend on who was selected. Their abilities, skills, powers and wits had to be on par or higher than the ghost child. It couldn’t have been a coincidence that the two went missing at the same time. Phantom had been locked away, broken out and disappeared. Shortly after the news of it being missing was apparent to every ghost for inhabited the Zone. “Who do you propose?”

“Yes, who will be your soldiers on this mission?”

“You must choose wisely. For if not, everything will be lost.”

* * *

One of the first things they did after settling down in their new home was fix Daniel’s appearance. The human’s hair was not only a complete tangled mess, it had never been washed, trimmed or brushed. Every time the human caught his reflection, something that startled him the first couple of occurrences, Danny could see something in his eyes. There was no way the boy would be able to just forget 14 years of his life. Each look into a mirror merely reminded him of it more. So it was time to change that. Daniel was free of that eternal prison now.

Daniel had been constantly tense the whole time. Danny had to continuously push the human's shoulders down. It took half a brush stroke through Daniel's mangled mop for the human to shy away from the ghost claiming "are you trying to rip my scalp off?!"

Leaving the hairbrush stuck in Daniel's hair, the ghost picked the boy up and phased through the wall into the bathroom. The human's clothes were phased off and he was dropped into the tub, splashing warm water everywhere. Danny started with a few drops of shampoo only to realize he was going to need about half the bottle. The soap flowed down the humans back with every bucket of water dumped over his head. Danny floated over the water with a bar of soap in hand, gently scrubbing Daniel's skin of all the layers of grime. After the conditioner, the hairbrush fell free allowing Danny to finish.

Every snip of the scissors required a calming period or else the next cut would end up crooked from Daniel's shaking. It had taken over an hour but the final result was worth it. Danny hustled the human to a mirror for him to inspect the new look for his new life. Daniel kept running his hands through his much shorter hair, expecting to have to extend his whole arm before the hair fell from between his fingers. Now, the back was cut cleanly against the back of his neck, his face was no longer covered with what was supposed to be bangs but now delicately framed it while not falling into his eyes. Washed and cut, it was fluffy and soft. The human was still messing around with it after a full day had passed.

The next obstacle they faced was food. It became quickly apparent Daniel couldn’t just eat anything having never digested a single scrap of food in his life. Half a bowl of cereal resulted in the poor human upchucking an already empty stomach, curled up beside the toilet for hours. The end was the same with any fruit, vegetable, grain, soft food and especially so for meat. Only water kept the boy from dry vomiting.

There had been so many failed attempts Danny was starting to worry he was losing trust. A trip out and a few possessions later the problem was solved. Turned out stomachs of humans who suffered starvation can’t handle a sudden transition to normal food. Daniel having never had a starting point probably had the most sensitive stomach on the planet. From then on all meals were kept at broth. Danny even made a small chart to signify when the general time to move onto the next food group would be. Clear liquids and bouillon made an appearance after about a month.

Daniel had yet to spend a single night in the human plane alone. Even when their home had two bedrooms they never spent a night separated. Danny stayed with the human as he slept, his arm caught between two warm ones. It was the only way to get the boy to fall asleep in the first place. Danny didn’t mind. It gave him a chance to not only look out for the human while he slept but it also allowed him to stay close by. Close enough to run a cold hand through Daniel’s soft hair and watch the peaceful expression he wore as he dreamt.

Other than a few more pillows and plenty of thick blankets for the upcoming snow there weren’t too many permanent additions to their living space. Unless you counted the immense piles and towers of books spewed across the floor. They dominated the living room leaving only a thin path for Daniel to walk to the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. Even the extra bedroom they had was filled with books Danny brought back from his weekly trips outside. After he snatched any food Daniel would need for the upcoming days he would phase into local bookstores or libraries. The ghost had first brought elementary level school books back once Daniel had settled into the apartment. With the increasing collection of reference and how to Daniel was learning to read and write basic sentences by the first snow fall.

Many of the lessons consisted of normal social patterns and human etiquette. Both of which difficult to each party, having lived their lives away from other humans. When they came across morals, or at least expected morals, Danny scoffed. “Right, okay. ‘Don’t steal’ and let’s let you starve. Sure.” An expression of hurt spread across the human’s features. “Sarcasm.” Add confusion to the mix and the ghost sighed. “I’ll teach you about that next.”

Danny was amazed at how quickly Daniel learned how to write legibly… until they switched to the local human language where it became an absolute disaster. Daniel was instructed to rewrite passages from different books whether he knew the meaning of anything in them or not. The first few words would be alright. Sometimes that status would continue for a sentence or two but without fail it would switch somewhere to the native ghost language. Reading wasn’t much different. Danny had written out a page or two in ghost and have Daniel read it. He’d point out it meant the same as this or that passage in the human text. Only to bewilder the human who’d constantly look back and forth between the two to find the connections.

The first snow storm had passed covering the entire city in a thick white sheet. Since their arrival to the human world Daniel spent most of his time in the apartment. He hardly left if at all. There wasn’t a need to. Depending on the urgency Danny would leave for a couple hours either weekly or more to retrieve anything they needed. For the most part Daniel sat curled up in warm blankets sounding out the words in his books while eating small bowls of pudding. Any desire to go outside was minimal at best. While he did want to eventually explore at least their front yard, walking was still fairly difficult. Danny had mentioned there was still a great amount of ectoplasm in his system as well. He wasn’t in some locked cage. He knew if he asked, the ghost would take him out around the block for some fresh air but he never did. The pair had made a fort out of the stools, mini couch, all the pillows and many of the blankets a week into the first snow fall. Not only was it even warmer and allowed Daniel to move without being stuck as a burrito it was just nice. Danny was close by his side, the ghostly aura lighting up the fort so Daniel could continue to read. Or just lay there in his ghost’s company. They talked about anything. Humans Danny had seen on his trips, other ghosts in the Ghost Zone, each other…

“Thank you Danny… for everything…” With his back flat on the ground, Danny tilted his head up coming face to face with the human’s sleeping one. Daniel was still wearing the red with white faux-fur trimmed winter coat he received earlier that day in honor of the local holiday traditions. He looked so warm and comfortable. Danny made a move to get up but he stopped. The human had intertwined their fingers despite the intense cold coming from the ghost. No wonder the boy piled so many more blankets on himself than normal. A small smile spread over the ghost’s face. He rolled over onto his stomach, careful to not move his hand too much. He leaned his head against his upper arm and watched the human’s chest rise and fall with every breath. One of the significant signs that ensured the ghost Daniel was still alive. They still had a long way to go. There was an unlimited number of subjects they had to at least briefly touch upon in their studies. It had been long enough as well, Daniel had been able to eat quite a number of more solid-ish things. He would need to start building back muscle soon. Future plans had come up once. Daniel had asked for him to stay forever or at least as long as possible. He hadn’t refused but even saying yes felt off. There was no telling how long any human would be able to keep a ghost hidden in a world that considered them highly dangerous, destructive creatures who needed to be put down immediately. For the time being, it was for as long as possible.

* * *

“How long will you be gone?” Daniel asked seated by the window in a bundle of blankets with a cup of hot chocolate in hand. He glanced out the pane as he took another sip, the warm beverage driving the chilly feeling away from his skin. Outside the snow had deepened. The January sky was dark apart from the ever glowing moon which sadly blocked out many of the stars. Nevertheless, it was a perfectly clear night with not a single cloud in the sky. The moon illuminated the streets and shined against the pearly white snow. Though he wouldn’t say it out loud that extra faint light outlined the ghost’s already soothing aura and brightened his smile. 

“Shouldn’t take more than an hour.” Danny stretched his arms and cracked his stiff back before lightly pushing off the floor, legs shifting into a ghostly tail. He flew over and rested his forehead against Daniel’s, tail curling possessively around his human. “You’ll be okay while I’m out?”

Daniel closed his eyes and smiled, the familiar chill on his skin returning. “I’ll manage. Just hurry back?”

“’course.” The ghost lingered for a second longer before turning intangible and phasing through the window. As soon as he was off the apartment’s property he turned invisible just in case there were security cameras nearby.

The route he took was one he had used many times before. He knew the area well enough to feel capable of sensing anything peculiar. So far, nothing was wrong. It was a routine supply trip. The roads to the Amity Park Mall were clear. Whatever cars sat on the side were covered in the heavy new snowfall that began as Danny traveled through the streets. There was never such a thing as being too careful. It was late enough where the stores were closed and anyone still awake would have retreated to their homes. The huge parking lot housed one maybe two cars. Likely owned by any of the security guards tending to the building’s cameras. The most basic surveillance still hadn’t changed from his first visit over a month ago.

Out of the corner of his eye something flashed. Upon closer inspection it was a simple and very small light bulb, about the size of a single Christmas light hung around the town a week or two ago. Unlike the holiday decorations it was a solid flickering black of all colors. The soft piles of snow glowed brightly around it. When he raised his hand towards it the white trim of his jacket showed vibrantly in the storm darkened night. Danny jerked his arm away and phased past it into the mall.

It was quiet inside. The windows and doors all shut firm enough to prevent any wind from making its presence known. The state of the shopping center was eerie. There were a few automatic lights from emergency exits and the ever present moon through the ceiling’s window. Not much had been moved since the last time he visited. As though no one had come by since him.

The spirit floated through the second level, looking into each store for the items Daniel needed. For one the damn kid needed a belt. The last few pairs of pants he brought to the human were long enough but his skinny hips still didn’t fill them out enough to prevent them from falling to his ankles. It had been and still was amusing. Nevertheless it was still requested. Just a simple one would suffice. Other things on the mental list were the basics. Food, higher level books as well as another pencil and a new lined notebook.

Danny hadn’t even entered any specific store before the entire building went dark without warning. The storm outside was his doing so a blackout was out of the running. Not even the moon shone through the window anymore. The ghost glanced up to find the glass covered in steel. The building creaked with a low hum from an unseen generator. Rows of the same black colored bulbs turned on, vibrantly lighting up anything that was white while turning anything black practically invisible. The strings of blacklights stretched along every store opening, each pillar and railing. Danny didn’t need a mirror to tell he was radiating in the darkness. In fact he was the only source of light in the entire shopping center. “Doog eb t’nac siht….”

A click of a safety and the buzz of a ghost weapon echoed through the silence. “Freeze ghost.” A man directly behind him said. Danny instinctively turned invisible before turning to face the ghost hunter. The only visual cue of the human was the green glow of the ecto-weapon yet it still wasn’t as bright as the spirit’s pearl white hair. “That trick won’t work, you waste of space. Visible or not we can still see you. just. fine.” The man’s words sent a shiver up the ghost’s spine, breaking the invisibility. If their arrival in the Fenton Work’s lab said anything it was being visible or not truly didn’t matter to the Fentons. Their technology rendered it a pointless energy expense. “Prepare for your disintegration.”

Panic.

As the buzz from the ecto weapon reached a peak Danny drew into himself throwing his arms out in front of him to conjure up the best shield he could muster. There was no time to escape at such a close range. The force of the blast tossed both ghost and hunter back. Danny slammed into the hallway’s railing and flipped over toward the first floor where he lost sight of the human.

Rolling over onto his side the ghost let out a small groan. A blast from another ecto weapon flew past his ear. Danny dodged to the side, barely keeping away from the multitude of shots burning into the floor. A familiar buzz erupted into the scene from above. Still both humans were nowhere to be seen. They were even smart enough to hide the glow of their weapons when they weren’t busy shooting. Thinking quickly, Danny phased through the floor just as the tiles sizzled from the energy.

“Come out ghost! You can’t hide!” A pair of feet sprinted along the ground floor. She silently switched to a different weapon. One that didn’t serve the same purpose as the previous or the same style bullet. Both hunters were on the lookout.

Danny flew as quickly as he could from cover to cover. No matter where, those damn black lights still made him shine like a lone candle in a pitch black room. It was infuriating. Forget the supply trip at this point he was more concerned about getting back to Daniel in one piece if at all. There were other places he could go to later. The spirit moved again once the coast was clear. At the opposite side of the mall he turned intangible and smacked face first into the wall. He fell to the ground holding his burning face in his hands. Danny hissed out a breath as he tried to collect himself. “Deneppah tsuj lleh eht tahw…?” He hesitantly reached out touching the tips of his fingers to the wall, yanking them away with a choked gasp as they too began to sizzle and smoke. Danny stumbled away from the wall. His skin had partially melted away, dripping green ectoplasm onto the floor.

His breathing became erratic. Footsteps were getting closer, louder. Danny took to the air testing other parts of the building with the same bad luck. Even the ceiling scorched his skin. Feeling completely trapped, Danny fired ectoblasts randomly into the darkness. Chairs, tables and displays all exploded into tiny pieces. He flew through the shopping center blasting anything and everything in sight. “Sevlesruoy wohs!” The stupid black lights made the entire encounter one sided. Danny brought his knees to his chest and gathering energy until surrounded him in a sphere before releasing it in a wave. Light bulbs popped, shifting the color intensities back to a semi normal.

From the edge of the remaining black light darkness two humans came into view. They both sported black jumpsuits with chest crossing gun holsters and a heavy duty belt laced with various ghost fighting gadgets. The woman held her weapon up, finger clearly hovering over the trigger ready to fire. The man reloaded his ectogun and took aim. “You’re not getting away this time, ghost.” Either they were referring to the ghost pair’s initial appearance or this wasn’t the only time the Fenton couple had Danny in their sights. What made more terrifying was that it was the first time Danny knew they had locked on. There hadn’t been a single occurrence in the past few months of being shot at. Almost if the Fentons were purposely staying just out of sight, waiting for the perfect moment to attack.

“Based on what you showed us back in our lab, I thought you would have put up more of a fight.” Red eyes flickered between the two hunters. Whatever they had done to the exterior of the building it severed a connection. There was outside, the snow, fresh air, freedom and more importantly Daniel. Then there was the inside of Amity Park’s Mall, secluded in darkness from the world with an unbreakable barrier in the middle. He felt trapped. Stuck in a locked cage with two killers eager to strike.

“Yaw ym fo tuo teg!” Danny charged toward Jack, fists green with energy. He easily dodged the man’s first shot by diving to the floor. A precise blast to the human’s hand made the oversized gun fly into the air and out of reach. The ghost circled around to the human’s back planning to possess the idiot and force his way out.

“Get your slimy ectoplasmic hands away from my husband!” Maddie fired three shots in succession, each landing expertly along the ghost’s left arm sending him back into the wall. The bullets stuck to the concrete wrapping around the ghost’s forearm, wrist, and hand. Bolts of electricity flared through Phantom’s system drawing out a scream that sounded so pleasant to both human’s ears.

Jack took Maddie’s hand in his and gave her a romantic kiss. “Thanks Mads, I can always count on you.” Phantom glared at the Fentons, their suddenly relaxed attitude pissing him off. He wasn’t down for the count yet they acted like the threat had already been detained. The spirit rolled to his side attempting to pull his arm free. Intangibility, invisibility, not even ghost rays did anything. Phantom tried to bring his legs up for leverage but his feet merely scraped fruitlessly along the wall. His eyes widened in panic as he saw smoke drift into the air from his arm a second before the burning sensation kicked in.

He grit his teeth, whipping his head back to the pair. To his surprise they had their back turned to him. The two were collecting their weapons and wrapping up a quick ammo check like he wasn’t even there. “Og em tel!” Phantom growled with venom dripping from every syllable. Despite the pain he bent his knees and planted his feet flat on the wall. He forced himself forward, leaning heavily to the right prepared to rip his own arm off to taste freedom once again.

“I don’t think so, ghost! Not when we’ve finally caught you!” Maddie stepped passed her husband and fired again, trapping the spirit’s other arm to the concrete. It hardly mattered. Phantom kept pulling. He could feel his ectoplasmic structure splitting at the shoulder. Losing one arm was fine. It would grow back eventually. Severing both was an option he would rather not go through with but if it was the difference between being with his human or dying right then and there then the final choice was clear in his mind.

The longer he stayed stuck the worse he felt. His skin sizzled and bubbled the longer it was in contact with the surface. The burns oozed green down the wall and his mind grew foggy. Whatever the Fentons had done to the place was attacking his entire being. The two humans appeared to be waiting him out. As if the longer they let him struggle the better it would be for them. It took only a few minutes for the energy to be sucked from Phantom’s body, his thrashing dramatically decreasing to mere twitches of muscle. Maddie and Jack stepped up to their catch. Superiority showed clear on their faces. “Dissecting this one will be fun.” The man commented as he twisted around to retrieve a soup container from his belt.

In a last ditch effort Phantom hastily inhaled a large amount of air and screamed. Shockwaves of energy erupted from his mouth shattering nearby glass. Pieces of the center’s structure broke apart and crashed to the ground. The pulses of energy drowned out the actual sound of the ghost’s voice as it radiated past the human’s bleeding ears. Unused bullets on their holsters sizzled and began to leak over their jumpsuits. Thinking quickly, Jack uncovered his ears and stripped his wife of the ammunition before doing the same for himself. He threw them across the room right as they warped and exploded. The shockwaves quickly grew smaller and less ear wrenching until they ceased completely. What remained around them was wreckage. Even the tough floor had scars disfiguring it. “What the-“ Jack began as he glanced at the exhausted ghost hanging by a pair of melting arms.

Maddie retrieved the Fenton Thermos and pointed it at Danny. “Nice try.” She clicked the switch as the ghost lifted his head just enough to see what was coming next. He flinched, squinting his eyes at the bright light that soon sucked him in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ghost Speech in TWWA is just backwards sentences.


	7. Late Winter

The world was dark. Any thought of warmth had seeped away to be replaced with a bitter cold. The ground had become flat, hard and uncomfortable at best. Ear piercing and brain damaging sounds scraped through the minimal silence. A creature screamed somewhere in the distance. Its agony filled voice was worse than nails on a chalkboard. He wanted to shy away from the sound but neither arm nor leg would budge. A gooey substance splattered onto the walls and pooled into a puddle on the floor. A drill spiraled into the creature eliciting another wail, one that soon faded out to nothing leaving only the sound of a faint joy filled laughter in its wake. Any and all pleads were happily ignored.

* * *

Danny’s dull green eyes fluttered open. He squinted, a harsh light above shining directly into his pupils. He turned his head awkwardly, for some reason unable to move his neck very well. Wherever he was it looked vaguely familiar. Across the walls were panels covered with different buttons and flashing lights. Beneath them stood tables piled with test beakers, overflowing glasses and scattered pages from various notebooks spewed around the room.

He tried to sit up except neither of his arms would budge. A quick test for the rest of his body proved the same result. He could shift his legs but his ankles were locked in place. Unlike his upper body, arms bolted down in two places between his shoulders, elbows, and wrists. One last circular metal plate kept him rooted to the cold, unforgiving slab. It stretched tightly over his windpipe. It was constricting enough to prevent any air intake even though he didn’t need it as a ghost but it also granted enough space to barely look around the room.

After getting past the blinding light the rest of the basement lab was dark, the examination lamp casting stark shadows along the spaces’ equipment. From his minimal point of view it appeared he was at least alone. If there wasn’t anyone around he could use the solitude to think up a plan of escape. Lord knows how long he was out. Daniel must be pacing back and forth in the apartment by now.

Danny strained to raise his head. He saw a large glass container on the other side of the lab poorly covered by a thin sheet before letting his head fall back onto the table with a thud. The ghost’s expression turned sour as his head throbbed, the edges of his vision fading in and out. With a small breath of air he blew the tips of his bangs to the side, his mouth resting into a pout. “Taerg.” Danny closed his eyes and gathered energy into his hands. He pushed and pulled, jerking his body to this side and that as he struggled to get free. It took an abnormal amount of effort to conjure up any solid energy let alone concentrate long enough to keep it stable. With a exasperated sigh Danny collapsed back onto the slab, having not made a single dent in the restraints. “Tcefrep gnikcuf …tsuj …citsatnaf.”

A loud thud erupted into the room,. One that sounded like a body was thrown into a wall. Danny flinched, eyes darting around the room looking for the source. He didn’t dare speak up again. For all he knew it was one of the Fentons and the longer he could avoid an interaction there the better. Unsure what to do he stayed motionless. A few quiet moments went by before the sound burst through the silence again. On the far edge of his vision the sheet over the glass container fell to the floor. Danny lifted his head as much as he could and came face to face with a horribly disfigured ghost. There were no clear features along what he supposed could still be counted as a body. It appeared to be more of a semi-held together pile of increasingly falling apart ectoplasm. Had the ghost sported any accessories they too had melted into the same combined pool. Whoever the spirit was before there was nothing left to determine their identity. Not even the sound of its voice. “Motnahp.”

The ghost was pressed against the glass. Every second that ticked by deteriorated the ghost’s form. Danny grit his teeth as he tried to pull himself up more to see the other spirit better it what seemed to quite possibly be its final moments. “Uoy era ohw?”

It was hard to understand the jumbled up words said on the other side of the glass. It didn’t even sound native to the Ghost Zone. However it did sound vaguely familiar as an ancient long lost language. The confusion must have been plain on Danny’s face for the ghost stopped moving its lopsided mouth. Instead it opted to place a big hand against the closest pane, wearing what he assumed was an expression of great sadness. “Dneirf.”

Realization at who the trapped ghost was hit right as the door at the top of the stairs creaked open. A thin ray of light pierced the thick darkness. Danny craned his neck to see which of the hunters was on their way down. The lab door closed with a soft click. Not a single derogatory ghost comment was said. Rather, a young girl sneaked down the steps. She had long red hair pulled back in a blue headband, a long sleeved black shirt and a pair of off-blue jeans. Both captives looked at her unsure what to make of the young Fenton. She seemed only a few years older than Daniel. His sister?

Jazz walked straight over to the spirit currently strapped to the metal dissection table in the middle of the lab. She looked him over left and right. It no… he stared back at her as she tiptoed around the slab occasionally poking him on the leg or arm. She gingerly held the end of the ghost’s boot and rotated his foot keeping in mind the metal plate over the ankle. There were a few _hmmms_ as well as some _ahhs_ with each curious inspection. Eventually she stopped at the top of the table, standing just out of the ghost’s vision. He’d have to crane his head up and that wasn’t an option.

It wasn’t as if there was much he could do. Scaring her away would be a little difficult seeing as he was completely immobile. Surely the girl wouldn’t have snuck down if there wasn’t something that enticed her to. “Tnaw uoy od tahw?” Danny asked with a sigh. He could feel the girl’s nervous hesitation. What was the point in even trying? Other than Daniel no human could understand anything he said.

“Uhh… well you see….” Jazz exhaled with a breath she’d been holding since the ghost first spoke. She cautiously rested her hand by the ghost’s shoulder, leaning over and brushing a few stray strands of white from the spirit’s eyes. “I’m sorry you’re here. I mean I’m glad since I now have a chance to talk to you but I’m afraid Mom and Dad will-“ She shook her head. “I guess I should get to my point.” The ghost rolled his eyes and she ruffled his hair in retaliation. “Your name was.. is… Danny right?”

The captive winced at the mention of his name. So she did remember correctly. Then again it would take a lot longer than a few simple months to forget that name, one that was already so dear in her heart. Without warning Danny tried to pry himself away, twisting his limbs until they reached odd angles that sent shivers up the young Fenton’s spine. “Woah, please! Just calm down a minute!“ Jazz bounded to the side of the table, her back to the stairs. “Shh! The more noise you make the sooner they’ll come down.” It wasn’t meant to be a threat but it was true. “If you answer me honestly I’ll… uh..” Only one offer came to her mind. The one thing this ghost probably wanted the most at the time. But could she do it? After what ghosts did to the brother she never even had the chance to see? “I’ll unlock the restraints and you can get out of here.”

Danny stared at the Fenton daughter with bewilderment. Whatever she wanted to know had to be incredibly important to her to offer that kind of deal. No telling how pissed the parents would be if they realized their beloved daughter let a ghost back into the world. Why bother with questions she couldn’t understand the answers to. They spoke different languages. Ugh the whole proposal was stupid and pointless. One glance at what was left of Wulf solidified Danny’s decision. “Laed ,enif!” Two words he couldn’t say fast enough. “Yas I drow a dnatsrednu t’nac uoy nehw em emalb t’nod.” What a dumb human. For a Fenton she didn’t have much of a brain. He could say gibberish for all she knew and he’d still be let free.

To his surprise the girl pulled out an electronic box from her back pocket. A dull red light flickered on after she flipped a switch on the side. “I’ll take that as a yes. Do know, with this,” she waved the recorder in the air, “I can translate what you say here later. If you don’t answer to my satisfaction or go off on some random tangent just to pretend to answer me I’ll know. Then next time you’re in trouble I won’t lift a finger but to help my parents. Ready?” Danny blinked, taken off guard. Scratch that no brains thing. He gave a small nod. As he waited he watched as the daughter carefully hid the recorder beneath the table. She stepped back to the side of the room to retrieve a pen and piece of paper, laying the sheet on the flat space beside Danny’s arm. “Who was that other ghost with you when you first invaded our home?”

Danny glared at her and Jazz scribbled down the reaction onto the paper. The deal was the questions had to be answered honestly. That didn’t mean the whole truth. The only issue was how much information had to be forked over to satisfy her. Giving Daniel’s name was off limits. Sure the girl may have offered to prolong his demise by the ghost hunters but there wasn’t any telling whether or not she’d actually have the guts to go through with her side. The chance was still small but no way in hell was he going to risk Daniel’s future for his. No the human came first way ahead of him in priority. Besides for all he knew, the girl was planning on using the information gathered to cause them trouble down the line. “Enoz Tsohg eht evael yllanif ot dedeen ohw enoemos.”

Jazz jotted down how Danny’s eyes drifted off elsewhere when he spoke, Already she couldn’t wait to translate the mere sentence he uttered. “Does he have a name?” She leaned closer, hoping that despite the language barrier she may still hear the one name she hoped for.

All she received for an answer was a glare and a kind of stubborn silence. Did she have to mention the sections of the deal again? “Snoitseuq diputs yllaer ksa uoy.” The ghost looked away as if remembering something. She wrote that on the page too, with a brief note of curiosity in the margin. “Esle enoyna naht erom eman a devresed eh. Seod eh esruoc fo.” Danny quietly mumbled. Jazz instinctively reached down and turned up the receiver’s volume. She could wind up missing important tidbits if he kept speaking that quietly.

“Alright… um…” The way he was acting once that black haired ghost came up was much different than before. “Who is he to you?”

That got the spirit’s attention. He stared at her with a blank expression before his features softened. The ghost looked away, opting to watch the unmoving ceiling instead. A sad smile crept across his lips briefly before it faded. “Dlrow ym…”

Translation or not, Jazz could feel the weight of that answer. It was short and sounded so caring. Yet something still continued to bug her. The young Fenton leaned in closer, temporarily leaving pen and paper behind. “Why do you look so guilty?” Danny titled his head to the side to meet her gaze. He sighed and opened his mouth to respond. This was it. This had to be the trail she was searching for. The answer she was really looking for. Jazz leaned closer until her ear was inches away from the ghost’s mouth. Sure, it would appear on the recorder but she wanted to make sure she heard it for herself. 

“-reven uoy“

The entrance to the basement flew open again, cutting the ghost off much to Jazz’ dismay. Danny turned away from the bright rays while the other ghost whined, retreating to the farthest corner of its cage. Jazz bolted upright. If her parents saw her so close to a ghost with such relaxed posture… She hastily stuffed the paper into her pocket before whipping around to face them. Maddie was already at the bottom of the stairs with Jack not far behind. “Jazz? Sweetie, why are you down here? We told you we captured one from that pair. You know how dangerous these ghosts can be.”

“I’m sorry. I was just…” She glanced at her father. Despite his personality, even he was serious in the presence of Danny. “Interested and curious.” A tingling sensation crawled up her spine. Danny was watching her. He had handed over his side of the deal and she hadn’t. It felt like there were small drill bits being hammered into her back. If her parents hadn’t come down Danny wouldn’t be feeling utterly betrayed and unintentionally manipulated. Jazz was almost certain if their paths crossed again, a big if relying on whether or not the spirit still managed to escape without her help, she would be running for her life. No number of apologizes dimming the fury of revenge and payback.

Maddie walked over to the glass container. She pulled her jumpsuit goggles up over her head raising her hand to a button on the wall. Danny strained to see what she was going to do to Wulf. In his peripherals Jack was inspecting his daughter for any visible clothing tear or cuts. “I’m fine Dad, really.” She stole a peek back at Danny. Guilt was so obvious it almost calmed his murderous rage. Jazz pushed against her father. “Hey… you two aren’t really going to.. kill him are you?”

“Well of course sweetie. It _is_ a ghost.” One simple click of a button. Danny’s eyes widened in horror a scream of denial in his throat. Animalistic screams erupted from the ghost within the airtight chamber as green gas was injected into the space. Jazz glanced over at the white haired spirit. She gulped upon seeing the terror filled look on his face. It was heavy, modified and horrific. The ghost boy pulled, twisted and jerked his body in a vain attempt to get free. Most likely hoping to rescue the ghost whose screams turned guttural.

The guilt in her throat dropped to the pit of her stomach. Jazz had her theories about the odd pair, Danny and the unnamed one. There had to be some sort of connection or truth behind the two. The way each acted during their arrival. Ghosts didn’t have much weight from what her parents’ research said. Yet the smaller one didn’t have the strength to hold himself up let alone stand up or so she observed. The number of times she studied the surveillance footage from that day had grown to such a huge count she had soon lost track. Her brother, she was told, had been stolen from Maddie’s arms hours after his birth. There had to be a reason. If it had been mindless ghost’s outrage then the culprit would have just killed Daniel immediately. He had to be out there somewhere. Judging by the police report of the incident, the hospital was put on lock down with nothing to show. There was a chance her little brother was taken to the Ghost Zone. Spirits had appeared before out of nowhere. Maddie and Jack even hypothesized natural portals. Whatever really happened, Jazz was willing to risk freeing Danny to find the answers. She was so sure one of those two ghosts, if both really were ghosts, knew something. One of them had to be a key. The recording she made and would continue after she was ushered out had to shine some light on the mystery. Yet, she was afraid. Not quite at what the truth may be but more so that she was getting her hopes too high.

Jack moved to his wife’s side, her finger still pressing the button. “That’s right. After we tear it apart molecule by molecule we’ll rid this world of its existence once and for all. Then all we’ll have to do to clean up is find the other one.” As her father talked he made numerous hand gestures to go along. All the while a grin on his face, one of childish excitement after getting a new toy to play with. By then the screams had died down, the contained ghost falling silent and dissolving into the air leaving nothing but empty space left behind the glass. Meanwhile Danny kept his head up, eyes frantically searching for any sign Wulf was still there, still alive somehow. Any sign that told him the spirit hadn’t been disintegrated into his original atoms. Jack’s words went unheard in the boy’s fright.

Completely ignoring the panic attack their next experiment was having, the Fenton couple exchanged a quick kiss. To them, another vile beast had been eradicated from their plane. It wasn’t a new concept to them and it certainly wouldn’t be the last time they rid the world of a ghost. But to Danny, a friend had been murdered. “Your father and I have thought about what you said too. You may be right that something’s wrong with that black haired spirit.” The white haired spirit visibly tensed. A mixture of anger and worry spreading over him.

Jazz had stepped forward at that point. A sinking feeling in her gut. She held her arms out defensively between her parents and her own patient. The words were on the tip of her tongue when her father’s voice drowned hers out. “Ripping into that one’s structure and finding out how the abnormalities formed will be fascinating!” Frustrated by Jack’s outburst she clenched her fists, determined to protect her key to the truth and attempt to keep her promise towards him. Unbeknownst to her an ominous aura of pure rage began to form around the ghost so close behind her.

Maddie quickly moved in front of her husband and placed her hands over Jazz’s shoulders. “Come on, Sweetie. No need for you to stay down here.” Jack maneuvered around his girls and began fooling with a few pieces of equipment on a table parallel to Danny. “Why don’t you head to your room and go back to sleep? We’ll be done in a few hours.” Without waiting for her daughter’s response Maddie ushered her up the stairs and closed the door as soon as Jazz was on the other side of the frame. No matter how much she hated ghosts for what they did, as a mother she couldn’t torture one with her child watching.

Now that it was just the two of them both of their demeanors changed. Neither had any tolerance for the crap ghosts had the tendency to spit out of their filthy plague ridden mouths. The Fenton pair each raised a hand to the side of their heads, flipping on a switch on their jumpsuits just behind the ear. “Where’s your other half ghost?” They eyed the ghost waiting for some sort of response. When none came they tried again. “Don’t want to talk about the other putrid ball of ectoplasm you brought with you into our world? Alright.” Maddie’s hand drifted to a switch that hand above the lower end of the table.

The spirit’s head creaked the one hundred eighty degrees to glare at them with piercing red eyes. Its body shook, expression eerily blank yet menacing all the same. A voice almost demonic in origin echoed in the basement lab, “Noitaroced sa desu dna esproc ruoy morf denrub eb nac hself gnitsugsid ruoy nehw si evah serutaerc citehtap uoy fo yna esu ylno eht! Sseltniop si snamuh uoy no ygrene gnitsaw!” The ghost broke into a grin. Slowly a soft sound eased its way into existence. It took but a moment to realize the ghost boy was laughing. It started low, an uncanny giggle morphing into an unnatural and sinister cackling before it finally eased into a fit of diabolical hysteria.

No ghost who knowingly stared at their second and permanent demise ever laughed. More often than not the pointless ball of existences begged for a mercy never bestowed upon them. Yet all this one did so far was burst into laughter. Its arrogance didn’t even let the impending doom on its being realize the situation it was in. Irritated and eager to change the specter’s tune, Jack reached over his wife and pressed her finger down, flipping one of many kill switches. Blue bolts of high powered electricity stemmed out of the restraints. A soothing agony induced shriek replaced the creepy sound coming from the spirit’s throat earlier. The ghost writhed in pain on the table, hands closed tightly to fists and teeth clenched shut. The pair waited. Watching the entity struggle beneath the metal, voice a harsh groan that grew louder the longer the couple held the switch. In the blink of an eye the intense shadows cast across the room faded to the previous darkness, one only lit by the captive ghost’s glow and the examination lamp above.

The ghost laid motionless on the dissection table pretending it was out of breath. Its fingers twitched every few seconds from the shock, likely still charged. From Danny’s perspective Maddie teleported around him to the other side of the room. On her way back she rolled over a surgical tray. Atop, resting elegantly on the thin green sheet were numerous scalpels, clamps and scissors. To his right Jack pulled over another one, positioning it next to the table within view. The second one had fewer tools and instead housed a bedpan and kidney tray, most surely not used anymore for their original purpose.

“You enjoying our anti-ghost equipment, Creep? We’ve made some modifications since you filthy creatures stole our boy.” Jack slipped his fingers through the scissor handles. “You certainly seemed to enjoy our improved Ectoranium laced ghost shield back at the plaza you were snooping around in.” As his wife held the fabric away from the ghost’s skin he began to cut straight up to the tip of the collar. The fact that they had to cut through clothes was slightly irritating. Just another way for ghosts to try and act like beings they were not anymore. “Leaving you dead beasts to roam in your world allows for too much freedom. Why lock you up only to deal with you ghosts again in a few months time?” The two ripped the shirt apart and stretched it to the side, pinning it down. So far the spirit was barely coherent. If one looked hard enough they could see the tips of its fingers shake with sudden lingering jolts of electricity.

“Elimination is the only sure fire way to make you putrid creatures stay gone.” Maddie picked up a scalpel between her delicate fingers holding it with the skill of a pro. Years of practice under her belt. “Our home? Pumped of human-safe air enriched with traces ectoranium.” She raised the surgical tool over to the specter’s chest, letting it reflect an attention grapping beam of light into the ghost’s eyes. Her skin brushed against the ghost’s, merely hovering over. A cold, thin metal tool rested gently over the spirit’s sternum. “Can you feel it?” Maddie slanted her arm, driving the very tip down piercing the ectoplasm formed skin. “Attacking your very cells as we speak?”

Danny screamed. “Tell us what your kind did with our son!” He groped the air, threw his head back and yanked his ankles back without prevail. The volume in his voice multiplied as the sadistic woman sliced her way down the front of his ribcage and over his abdominals. He could feel the green slimy substance ooze out of the gash and run down his sides. Breath erratic again he rolled his head to the side, not wanting to see his own dissection. There had been a small hope he could somehow make it out. The chance was still there, it had to be.

The cold metal left his skin much to Danny’s relief. Although reluctant he faced the woman again. He eyed the subtle smile on her lips. Danny’s blood dripped from her utensil over her hand and down her wrist. Despite the soreness in his throat he managed a weak snicker, one interrupted by desperate breaths for air. “Su dnatsrednu neve nac snamuh uoy fi sa. Tahw uoy llet dna… ah?”

“On the contrary,” Maddie brought the scalpel back, this time making a diagonal V-shaped incision from the infraclavicular fossa down to the initial cut and up to the other side. “We can.” With clamps in hand, Jack tore the skin back to better reveal the inside torso cavity. Millimeter by slow millimeter Danny’s structure was forced painstakingly apart.

It wasn't the first time they had a ghost on their table. Not by a long shot. The first seven years after their son's disappearance was mostly focused on building their portal. They couldn't do anything else but. Aside from natural portals, the existence of which could never be predicted no matter how hard they tried to find connections, there were not ample opportunities to find a ghost. A few unfortunate ones had attempted to travel through Amity Park once or twice. Not once did they forego the chance to intersect the specters.

Once the portal had been completed the Fenton's activities grew harsher and more known throughout the town. Ghosts were aware of the free portal, always open and always waiting to be snuck through. No ghost ever came back to warn others away. From the moment they phased past the dimensional wall Jack and Maddie Fenton were waiting for them. Armed and ready. Within the first month alone they had captured, interrogated and killed 42 spirits in their lab. Each one was asked the same questions. In the beginning asking them anything was pointless. No matter how much the Fenton's tore them apart they refused to speak any human tongue when it was obvious they were able to understand it. It had taken years of research and about a dozen subjects to test it on but they soon were able to develop a type of translator. It wasn't the same as their later, Ghost Gabber but it worked on a quicker but smaller scale. It was still too complex for humans to learn but they utilized technology to take them that extra needed step. Within the Fenton's jumpsuits were small chips hooked to one side of the head near the ear. One flip of a switch and the presumed 'main' ghost language could be translated to the wearer in real time.

"Now tell us what we want to know or else," While Maddie cleaned the surgical tool Jack snapped on an extra set of gloves. The man leaned over the table and hooked his hands under the anterior inferior opening of the ribs and wrenched. The bones cracked from the force. An ear piercing wail violently clawed its way out from the back of Danny's throat. Lights flickered, sparking along with the ghost's glimmering aura. Beakers crashed to the floor and notebooks fell, scattering unclipped pages over the tiles. Electronic equipment buzzed. Jack tugged harder until Danny's sternum cracked in two in a jagged line.

A traumatizing split Danny never wanted to experience or hear again. The sound was deafening to his own ears. Both arms popped out of their sockets as his spine arched away from the table in excruciating anguish. Jack withdrew, both Fentons stepping back awaiting the ghost to conclude its act of feeling pain so they could get back to work. The ghost portal surged, humming to life from the excessive energy emitted. The doors opened without either human's consent, the eerie green glow of the Ghost Zone casting dense shadows throughout the basement. The power surged once more before the specter’s convulsing finally ceased its chest rising and falling rapidly. Its head rolled to the side, a trail of green streaked from its eyes down its cheek, mixing with the no longer pearl white hair stuck to its forehead.

A fake gasp caught in its throat, voice hardly audible. "Latrop eht…!” Unbeknownst to the Fentons a very real fear carved its way into Danny’s senses. The ghost shuddered, recoiling away from the dimensional door. There was no telling what ghost if any was watching from the other side. Observing. Waiting for him to slip up and reveal the location of the long lost human or perhaps Danny’s own demise. With him gone, getting to Daniel would prove effortless. He couldn’t let either happen. “Ti yortsed tey retteb- ti esolc!” Danny begged in a raspy voice.

Maddie stabbed the scalpel into Danny’s palm eliciting a yelp from the ghost. “Why! Why would you want the portal closed?” The sharpened edge dug into Danny’s tendons.

“Tuo teg t’nac yeht os-“ Her laugh was light hearted. The same kind of sound one would expect to hear if the context was baking cookies in the kitchen. He grit his teeth through the pain. “Teg t’nod uoy esaelp-p suoires m’I-”

“No we don’t. I don’t ‘get’ why you keep insisting on acting like a human, you putrid ball of post human consciousness!” Maddie backed off, leaving the utensil embedded in the ghost’s palm. There wasn’t even a single exchange between the two Fentons. As soon as his wife was clear of the table Jack flipped on the electricity. Bolts burst out into the room once more dragging out unsuspecting screams from their captive. Both had no problem doing what they were, not in the slightest. Not even after hearing the pained cries of the still awake and sort of alive subject. Losing their son all those years ago really did turn them cold as ice…. Ice….

Jack turned the energy dial higher until it surpassed the caution zone and pointed toward the far end of the red. By then the only sounds in the lab were the screeches of passing electricity and the shrieks of a ghost.

In Danny’s mind everything burned. Muscle, skin, his exposed insides. They all felt vulnerable, close to melting point. He couldn’t move his arms or legs nor any part of his body. It was all rigid from the high voltage shocks. There seemed to be no end to the surges being pumped unwilling into him. He cracked open an eye, bending back just enough to see Jack Fenton’s hand still firmly around the dial. An end nowhere in sight. All attempts at a ghost wail earlier had failed. He didn’t have enough energy to spare to unleash powerful enough shockwaves to disarm the lab equipment. 

A soothing light blue eased its way to the outer ring of Danny’s aura. From within his open chest cavity his core shined, flashing once before solidifying. The temperature dropped a significant 40 degrees. The Fentons exchanged glances both surprised to see their breaths. During the time of a heartbeat they dropped their arms, wrapping them around their bodies as the cold seeped in. They felt it in their bones. Each passing second the lab grew colder. The tips of their fingers numbed. Their eyes darted back to their captive. The one who had allowed them to prove their theory of elemental cores at last.

The specter’s surgical incision had filled with ice. Without the intensive electric shocks he was able to concentrate. Relaxing onto the table Danny closed his eyes for a split second allowing the extreme cold sensation to fill his body before releasing it in a single instance. If he didn’t somehow make it out Daniel would truly be alone in the world. Unable to sleep, eat or obtain food in the first place. Danny had held onto Daniel’s hands guiding him from one end of the apartment to the other in case the boy fell but walking was still troublesome. In addition to being incredibly tiring for the human’s under exercised legs. Miniscule ice particles shot out from Danny’s position to encompass the entirety of the basement lab. Of his cage. Milliseconds behind the initial cold a thicker frost followed. The ice crawled the Fenton’s ankles freezing them in place, unable to reach for any of their more powerful ranged weapons.

Verglas layered up and around the restraints now dead from the lack of power connected to them. With a quick and powerful tug Danny broke his right arm and legs free. Exhausted, he rolled over and heard the pop of his arms snapping back into place. In the current level of torment flooding his mind the relocating of his structure barely registered. Danny dug his fingers into his own skin to get under the metal bar on his upper arm. A smooth yank broke the material into tiny pieces, allowing the ghost to get enough freedom to simply get up on his knees and get the rest of his limbs free. He ignored the scalpel even as it tore through his hand, splitting his fingers down the webbing.

No. No. No! The ghost hunting pair wrestled within their new icy entrapment. In his flailing, Jack had fallen backwards onto the slippery floor. His knees bent at what could only be an unnatural angle with no hopes of getting upright. Determination merely refueled by the recent development of their newest specimen, Maddie patted herself down in search of any miniature weapon on her person. There was a background doubt that she’d be able to wield one properly in the intense bone chilling cold infiltrating their bodies like a plague up from their legs.

She glared at the spirit hunched over on the slab clutching its hand to its chest. That putrid thing was going to die permanently on their examination table. Nothing ever escaped their grasp in the past. An alien feeling of defeat washed over her even when the ghost slipped off the table in what she presumed was a temporary moment of believed weakness. The ghost lifted its head and stumbled back away from the portal. On shaking legs it stood, raising its hands and blasting the door until it too was encased in ice. She watched frustrated as their test subject kicked lightly off the ground and took to the air.

With their most important scientific capture ever escaped and gone, Maddie turned back to check on her husband. He was in one of his normal enthusiastic speeches of payback and vengeance. Jack was right, next time they caught that ghost boy they’d make sure it won’t taste freedom ever again. As of now, they could only hope the ice melted quickly. Without any data on elemental cores, especially ice, there was no telling when they’d be able to move again. The only positive side was the mass amount of samples they now had to test and experiment on.

* * *

It had been the beginning of the night when Danny left promising a short trip. Now the sun was just rising over the horizon. Daniel checked the clock for what must have been the millionth time. Danny still wasn’t back yet and it was already light outside. Even during his typical excursions Daniel would feel a twinge in his heart. The ghost never had to be gone long before the loneliness crept in. Just knowing there was so much space between them, another wall separating them. But it always subsided and disappeared when he returned. Being alone never did a bit of good for him. Merely an hour by himself caused a revert back to his life in the Ghost Zone. 

Whether it were minutes, or seconds after his ghost initially left Daniel wasn’t sure and definitely didn’t care. He had locked all the windows, drawn the shades, barricaded the all visible doors and covered himself in every blanket in the apartment. To him each wall that lead to the outside was dangerous. Every door, whether it merely lead to one of the bedrooms or to the hallway was hazardous. Whatever was taking the spirit so long this time made Daniel’s worries grow the more prolonged Danny’s return became. Half an hour after the ghost’s original estimated time of arrival Daniel knew something was seriously wrong. 

The boy had laid awake through the entire night both unable to sleep and with a bizarre ache in his chest. Still unacquainted with most bodily feelings or sensations he skimmed through a dictionary for all of five seconds before deciding to use it as a projectile if the need came.

Without warning a harsh chill slithered up the human’s spine. Curling up deeper into the mass of blankets his initial reaction was to prepare himself for a ghost attack. It could be literally any one of them who visited back in the Ghost Zone. Muscles tensed, nerves anxious and mind racing he waited… until nothing came. No matter how many layers he pulled over himself the cold stayed. As if it was coming from inside him. The feeling never passed. After a short while the chill dulled, sitting in the background of his awareness.

As soon as Daniel allowed himself to relax the hairs on the back of his neck stood straight up. The human frantically looked around utterly panic stricken. A few books weren’t going to stop any number of ghosts determined to take him out of the human plane.

Relief washed over him as he watched a particular white haired ghost phase through the window. However any feeling of happiness replaced itself with dismay. Much of Danny’s body was frozen from the spirit’s own ice. A gooey green substance dripped onto the floor. Daniel’s eyes followed it back to the owner, frightened to see the ghost covered in it. Face, hands, chest, torso, arms it was everywhere. The last time he remembered Danny bleeding was when he had come to free him of his life sentence.

He didn’t hesitate to extract himself and hurry to Danny’s side. He managed to catch the ghost just as he crashed towards the ground. The extra weight on Daniel’s weak legs caused the two to fall to the floor anyway. “What h-happened?” The boy whispered, carefully turning the ghost in his arms so he was more comfortable. Trembling fingers brushed lightly over the ice encased hole in Danny’s chest. Black mixed with white, green staining both colors as the human leaned his forehead against the spirit’s. Never before had he seen Danny’s aura so dim. A jolt of fear sprung up his spine. His ghost was fine. He had to be. He always was.

Danny’s body was tense as if he was still geared up to fight for his life. “What do I do? I don’t know what to do…” There was no telling if it was the drying ectoplasm or some other thing entirely but the ghost collapsed across his lap smelled of death. Daniel went rigid at the thought. Tears collected in his eyes and his vision became blurry. He watched as a single drop fell from his chin and instantly froze on the ghost’s cheek. Keeping one arm gently cradling Danny’s form with his other hand Daniel delicately held the ghost’s left. Green spread over the human’s skin as he caressed the wound with a tender touch.

“Danny… Please don’t leave me. I don’t want to live without you…..” Nothing moved in his arms. Daniel could feel his own heart stop. He gazed at the deteriorated spirit. This couldn’t be happening. There were still so many things they hadn’t done together yet… No groan of pain, no smile of reassurance, no explanation, not even a twitch of a facial muscle. Fear overruled all common sense. How does one even check if a ghost is still ‘alive’ or not? Any attempts at speaking died on his trembling lips. His throat felt tight and breathing became more difficult with each sobbing inhale. Daniel held onto his ghost tighter, afraid any second Danny would fade into the void forever. “I-I love you.”


	8. Spring

Daniel hadn't uttered those three words since that day. There were moments where Danny wanted to bring it up. Ask if the boy meant it or if it was just something he said in a dire state. Even he hadn't been sure if he'd heal from that damage. Regardless of Danny's efforts to approach Daniel on the subject it was never an appropriate time. Thus, it was left alone.

Ever since the run-in with the Fentons Daniel's attitude had changed. It had been hard to pinpoint exactly what was different at first. Only when other humans came up in their conversations did Danny notice. Distrust in his own species. Having been ignored and hated by ghosts for years Daniel still preferred their company or if nothing else just Danny's. Several weeks after the near death experience any mention or push to have the boy explore the town more had been quickly shot down. Not even the slightest interest in being around other humans existed.

It had always been a question of acceptance. "How do you know they won't ultimately shun me from their world and send me back to the Ghost Zone?" The counter argument to Daniel's insecurity had always been easy, simple and the truth. Not a single human knew about the Ghost Zone's human skeletons. As was proof of the Fenton's utter ignorance of the situation. Now the worries and fears shifted along with Daniel's demeanor toward others. "I can't live without you. I don't want to be away from you. I know even if I left for a short walk around the building you'd follow to make sure I was safe. If your afterlife will be in danger then I don't care about going outside. I'm fine staying in/doors/ this apartment. I don't want to risk you anymore than what you already do. It's not fair if I do" Daniel hadn't realized it at the time but the option he proposed was strikingly similar to his previous predicament within the Ghost Realm. "I can't see you like that again…"

* * *

For the weeks following the Fenton fiasco Danny made sure to change his route and destinations every few days. Instead of going to the same big place for all the supplies he went to multiple smaller stores. It enabled him to keep a better eye out in the openness of the streets for any suspicious behavior. It helped that the Fenton's van wasn't very inconspicuous. Any sign of danger and it'd be easy to get away. He flew high in the sky getting an aerial view of the streets. Usually by the third trip there was some sign that the Fentons were onto him. He'd see the same black lights from the Amity Park Mall scattered in dark alleys and corners. Other times he'd get a strange feeling in the pit of his core. It'd tell him to get away, to turn tail and leave. The first occurrence he didn't listen. It was only after a few more seconds of flying did a bright ray of reflected light shine in his eyes. It was a Fenton Bazooka locked and loaded, waiting for the ghost's arrival. He just managed to high tail it out when they hunters came out of hiding to try and get a second shot at dissecting him.

The Fentons were getting more creative and even more desperate as their chances slipped through their fingers. Over time the town became more equipped with ghost detection devices. Many of the crossroads were already suited up. Blaring red lights and high pitched alarms screeched through the streets whenever Danny had flown past. Originally the system was disorienting. He had traveled those routes numerous times before and nothing like it ever occurred. All the ghost needed to know about the siren was that once it started blaring the Fentons weren't far behind. A few shots from an ectoweapon and Danny was out of there.

The latest change to the town was certainly the most alarming. Not only did all major streets and intersections contain the Fenton's detection software but they also harbored a more immediate danger.

Strange enough it hadn't happened until the ghost was already on the last stretch of the run. As usual the lights flashed and the warning bells chimed in their normal ear piercing howl and Danny ignored it. The detection system did just that, it would find him and apart from that it was harmless. Sure the Fentons would show up but they weren't that hard to escape from. Especially when he wasn't trapped in an ectoranium encased ghost shield. What he hadn't expected was the extra artillery.

Jack hadn't even drove dramatically into the scene with their giant weapon of mass chaos yet Danny was zooming through the air, dodging each shot the best he could. It shouldn't have been as surprising as it had. When an entire species, if you can even group ghosts like that, kidnaps a child from leading ghost hunters it should be expected they'll make sure to turn the whole world against the creatures. Lost children made great campaign logos. How could the common continue to call themselves human if they ignored a poor child, disappeared from his mother's arms. Even unethical people, politicians especially, couldn't ignore it without appearing as heartless, uncaring individuals in the public eye. Surely getting a bill that allowed changes to public buildings and a say in architectural decisions for building construction didn't take that long to pass. The strides Jack and Maddie Fenton made to ensure victory against ghosts were astounding. If only they knew their current efforts were only harming the situation.

Danny weaved around street lamps, tricking the artillery into blowing the lights out. With the Fenton assault RV rapidly growing bigger on the horizon Danny took aim to the road. Ice crackled on the surface. A beautifully detailed frost paving the way for the final icy layer. The ghost took off, glancing back once only to double check that the hunters had slowed from his trail. To his pleasure the pair had stopped dead in the middle of the ice. However there were sharp precise skid marks along the frozen surface. From his distance he could barely make out snow chains wrapped around each tire. "Em gniddik eb ot tog ev'uoy!" Apparently when faced with a new challenge, unlike many humans, not only did they not give up but they faced it head on with their improved guns blazing.

Maddie sprung from the passenger's side and launched an ecto seeking missile. She leapt back into the car after recovering from the gun's recoil. Jack slammed his lead foot on the gas pedal, driving viciously towards their goal.

The ghost raised its arms seconds before impact. Blown back from the force of the blast the entity descended to the ground like a piece of flaming debris. The curb cracked from the pressure of the collision. Once the smoke cleared the asphalt appeared charred and burnt. The Fenton's watched as the ghost tried and failed to stand, merely toppling over as they neared.

Disoriented, Danny struggled to get a hold of the situation. The missile didn't do much damage wise. It didn't have any antighost weaponry attached to it. When it hit his body it just burst as if it was some kind of dud. Then why the hell could he not move? He fought against the growing desire his body had to lie down and stop moving. That vulgar vehicle was screeching to a stop a few yards from him. Danny clutched at his stomach, leaning over until his forehead was against the road. The residual smog attacking his being with every breath. For a gas it wasn't behaving like one. Not even a gust of wind dispersed it from his crash site.

Two doors slammed shut, accompanied by the eerie sound of footsteps in the otherwise silent street. As soon as he tried to glare up at them a lump formed in his throat. No possible attempt could have prevented the mouthful of ectoplasm that forced its way out of Danny's throat and onto the asphalt at the hunter's feet. "Tch. Think we made too high of a dose?"

Maddie grabbed a fistful of white hair, pulling the ghost's head up. As predicted it was heavily affected by their chemical compound. What a better way to test it than in the field. Sure the amount released by the shell casing may need to be adjusted. But for this particular spirit it didn't matter. She'd rather risk overdosing the ghost then not forcing enough ectoranium into its system thus allowing it the strength to still escape. Judging from the dullness in its eyes they wouldn't have to worry about it getting away again. She inspected the ghost again, tilting his head side to side like a ragdoll. "Get the thermos out, Jack. He's not going anywhere."

It was bullshit. Out of all the ghosts to enter the human world the Fenton pair had to develop a vengeance against him specifically. Danny glanced at the scattered supplies he had collected for the hunter's son. The woman still had a tight grip on his hair. As the man fumbled with the soup lid Danny concentrated. From within he felt the cold and let it spread through his body. It seemed to be the last power he had to combat the Fentons merely because of their lack of knowledge on cores. The longer it stayed that way the better. The more they adjusted for it the harder life would get for him… for Daniel.

Ice crystals formed over white locks at the same time it seeped out from the ghost's hands. Just a few seconds was all he needed. Ice crawled up Maddie's arm but she didn't let go. Desperation can make creatures resort to anything to survive. Opting to rely solely on physical strength versus anymore ghost attributes, There was nothing he wasn't willing to do to get back to his human's side. Danny grabbed the inside of Maddie's wrist. Pushing the arm away to the side, he whacked her elbow with his other in the opposite direction. There was a shiver inducing crack that signaled his freedom.

Luckily Jack Fenton was too concerned with his wife's broken joint/arm to chase after the ghost immediately. To Maddie's credit, Danny didn't hear her scream out in pain when her elbow snapped. Then again, he didn't stick around very long to assess any damage. The spirit ran along the sidewalk, ducking through alleyways as he tried to get farther and farther away without using any ghost powers. He'd have to wait a while before the sickening feeling from the gas left.

It was always annoying getting away from the hunters. With their cameras everywhere he couldn't simply lose them around a series of corners and casually fly back to Daniel. Every new trip outside the apartment alerted him to the increase and spread of surveillance. Leaving and returning required a convoluted process in order to not expose Daniel's whereabouts. He had been hoping things wouldn't get this bad until many months into the future. The idea of moving Daniel to another town with less ghost killing activities had crossed his mind but it wouldn't be fair. The boy was used to the new home. It could be harmful in more than one way. Uprooting the human and risking detection from other ghosts wasn't worth taking out the thorn in Danny's thumb.

Danny shot up from the floor startling an unsuspecting Daniel and causing a tower of books to topple over. Muscles still tense from the fight or flight he hurried toward the window, closing the shades in a single movement. He zoomed through the apartment double and triple checking all windows and doors and cabinets were locked.

"Welcome back," Daniel picked up a handful of books and moved them to the side, eyes following the ghost's frantic movement. "Should I uh… bother asking how it went?" From the ghost's behavior it was clear what had happened. Daniel kicked the rest of the fallen books off his lap and stood, brushing dust off his pants. "Danny?" The boy stepped forward cautiously. There was no doubt in his mind that Danny would never hurt him. But watching the spirit's uneasy and restless floating about even he was unsure. "Hey," He tried again without an answer. The human reached out and grabbed the entity's wrist, gently pulling him down until his feet could touch the ground. He wrapped his arms around Danny's shoulders, "Whatever happened, it's over. It's done. You're here now."

An audible sigh brushed by his ear. "I can't…" The voice was so soft he almost missed it.

Daniel held his ghost tighter. Wisps of fear and insecurities clawed at his bare feet, digging their way under his skin. Did he dare ask? He could only hope the answer wasn't what he was expecting. "Can't what?"

The spirit's legs merged into a ghostly tail. One that curled around Daniel's hips and partially down his leg. "The Fentons. Fuck, those humans never give up."

A sweet laugh interrupted the otherwise tense discussion. "I'd be shocked if they suddenly stopped chasing you." The human pulled back to look into the frightened pair of green. Only the moment he did, the ghost's arms encircled his chest and Danny leaned forward resting his head on a shoulder. "…Danny?"

There it was. That worried, caring tone he could never lie to nor hide from. "They added a new feature to the town's defense system." Cold air caressed the human's neck as Danny spoke. "Might as well have installed ectomachine guns. If they weren't locked onto my signature they are now."

A breath taking gust of cold overloaded Daniel's senses as the spirit let go of his body and phased through him, opting to float with his arms crossed a few feet away. "What does that mean exactly?" He didn't want to specify for 'me,' 'us,' or 'you'. Some part inside him wanted Danny to voice it. As if that would clear up how he viewed the human. As a thing he felt obligated to care for or something different.

"It means I can't keep going out making these trips as often as I have been. Either I go rarely for bigger hauls or we figure something else out." Danny sighed, suddenly deep in thought. He floated near the ceiling, occasionally glancing down at his human. There was a long silence before he spoke again. "If the town's systems are getting this bad for us ghosts this quickly then I won't be able to be with you when you're at school this coming fall."

Three… Two.. One. "School!? Wait what the hell!" Daniel jumped up and snatched the ghost's arm before he could fly out of reach. "Please tell me you didn't-" Danny couldn't help but break into a wide grin. The panic on the boy's face was priceless. With the extra weight Danny floated closer to the floor until the human's feet touched the ground again. The boy clung to Danny's arm and his smile faded. Daniel's breathing became erratic, his eyes darting around the room.

"I uh… figured you've been doing so well in our studies so far, I went ahead and enrolled you in the town's high school. You know, before walking outside became the death sentence it is now." Danny adjusted himself in the air to allow the human a better hold. Daniel took the opportunity immediately. He dragged the ghost down until he was a foot off the floor. Daniel sat awkwardly, leaning over with his head buried into his ghost's chest. "By age you'd be a sophomore, but your knowledge level had to make you a freshman."

The voice was muffled and quiet. "How?"

Danny couldn't help laughing a little despite the situation. "I possessed the principal and had her fake a transfer." It had been so easy. The people of Amity Park may have been aware of ghosts but that didn't mean they were all smart about them. No ectoweapons, no ghost shields. All he had to do was phase through the walls and find his target sitting unprotected at her desk. He had been in and out without a single problem. She hadn't even noticed the grave amount of information missing from the transfer documents.

"Why?" Daniel clung tighter to the ghost's jacket. His voice held an anxious whine embedded underneath his words.

"If we're going to reestablish you in the human world, what a better way than getting into a school? That way you'll be able to put our studies into practice and learn from better teachers on more subjects than what I can provide." Danny lifted the boy's head up with a gentle hand on his chin. There was only so much he could help the boy with. Daniel knew about as much as Danny did about the human world at that moment. Maybe one or two less significant things but for the most part the two were learning together. After Daniel fell asleep Danny would pick up the last book they worked on and continue until morning. Both of them being confused wasn't going to help.

"But… if you can't be around me… what if they come… what if I mess up and expose us or.. if I can't handle it!" Daniel's anxieties made themselves known. Tears crept at the corners of his eyes. Snot threatened to run down from his nose and over his lips. His voice became uneven and various syllables shortened by quick intakes of air. "If I get scared no one will understand and be able to help but you!"

Guilt gnawed at the edges of his mind. Maybe he should have waited to break the news. Or at least until the boy was much more comfortable in the human world. "You've been doing so well the last few months. I'm sure you'll do fine. Positive, in fact. Besides," Danny wiped a stray tear from the boy's cheek with his thumb. "We still have a couple months until then."

Daniel's voice hitched as he spoke. "W-what if I really need you? You wouldn't be able to come without risking yourself…" He took Danny's left hand in his, staring at where the gash that threatened to cut the gentle hand in half used to be. The fear from that night crawled back into the front of his mind. He never wanted that to occur again. Seeing his Danny come back to him broken and…

"Alright, alright. There is this one option…" He hadn't planned on bringing it up. It was one of the last things they could try. Danny wasn't even sure if he wanted it. It already felt wrong somehow. But the look in the human's eyes killed him. It reminded him of when they first met. How lifeless they were when he first walked into the cold dark room. "However, I don't know if you'd like it at all. It'll also take a while to perfect it for both of us."

A little apprehensive the human titled his head up in curiosity, letting Danny float a couple feet away.. "What is it?"

"It's a kind of possession." Daniel rolled his nose up at the word. Ghosts couldn't be trusted. Giving even the smallest bit control over himself to them again made his skin crawl. Yet he felt willing to hear the idea out. This was Danny he was talking to and he was different from the rest. "It wouldn't be a complete take over. I mean… it'd work a little differently from a typical overshadowing." He spoke with his hands making nervous gestures. It was clear Danny was trying to lessen the severity of the proposition.

Daniel stared at the floor a bit skittish. If he even humored the idea he'd have to be okay with it. How the hell could he not be? To be that selfish and still allow Danny to leave the apartment in order to care for him. No. He didn't want anything to happen to his ghost as much as Danny didn't want him to stub his toe against a soft cover book. "How does it work exactly?"

The spirit's ears perked up. He couldn't believe it. The human was actually considering it. Where should he start? All of a sudden his throat felt scratchy. "W-well, I'd inhabit your body but you'd still be in control." As he spoke Danny watched the human closely for any reaction. Even the smallest twitch of the eye and they'd throw the proposal out the window for good. There was never only one option. Deep down he knew if the plan was rejected he'd still risk going outside for supplies. If it came to that he'd just have to set up securities for Daniel if he never made it back. "So whenever you're faced with something you can't handle, let me take over and I'll keep you safe. That way, I could be with you everywhere you go and protect you."

A pair of blue eyes grew wide with excitement. "And you wouldn't have to worry about being ripped apart and destroyed forever."

Danny glanced around, nervously rubbing the back of his head. A weak smile on his face. "Geez. When you put it like that…"

The boy reached his arms out and Danny gladly flew closer to take hold of them. If he concentrated he could feel Daniel shaking. "I'm sorry. I just…. I'm afraid you won't come back to me. You're the only  _person_  that I know. Can trust. Knows me and understands."

The number of humans Danny met could be counted on two hands. Much of his life had been spent in the Ghost Zone but he felt there were an unlimited amount of times where humans rejected or disappointed him in the worst senses. Deep down existed an indestructible desire to lay waste to them all. To make them pay for their crimes and make them suffer eternities. A wished fate for all humans. Except one. In his ideal world, Daniel would rule by his side atop mountains for corpses instead of living in hiding. "I won't ever leave you. You can count on that promise. The two of us are in this together."

* * *

A cool spring breeze danced about creating mini tornados of long dead leaves. They swirled by his feet before moving on without a care in the world. Budding branches swayed with the wind overtop the shining park lamps. Light bounced off the grass and cobblestone walkway, elegantly illuminating the space around it. Passed the calm glow was the brilliant night sky. It was filled with glistening stars bright and dim. It was the perfect night for stargazing. The moon had disappeared into its new moon ephemeris phase, allowing a clear view of space from the Earth.

In the back of his mind a voice called out.  _"Dannnyy. Are we there yet?"_  The human's soul made an exasperated and dramatic sigh. " _What is it you even wanted to show me? Why can't I look yet?"_  Green eyes stared up from the ground and into the void with a small smile on his face. It was the month of the Grass Moon. Over halfway through on a day most people weren't required to work was the New Moon. It would be Daniel's first. All the others he was either cooped up in the apartment or he fell asleep against Danny's chest awaiting nightfall. It was about time he dragged the boy out for the occasion.

"Setunim erom wef a tsuj, esolc er'ew. Gnikeep on. Taht leef I." Danny took them on the trail winding up the mountain. As he stepped closer and closer to the top the walkway grew darker. The number of lamps lighting the way diminished until none were left on either side. The trees became mere silhouettes guiding any who traveled through their path. The trip may be for Daniel, but he couldn't hide his own excitement. Couldn't wait to see the joy on the boy's face.

" _Can't you just fly us there? Geez you're drowning me in suspense."_  Danny had to cover his mouth to stifle a laugh.

"Sesroh ruoy dloh os. Dnuora elpoep llits  _era_  ereht, kniht uoy tahw etipsed." Down at the bottom of the mountain the wind was relatively calm. Any snow had long melted a few weeks back but that didn't elicit warm weather in recent days. While he couldn't feel the cold as much as Daniel would, he was glad he bundled up before they left. Complete with a winter jacket and a scarf. The human may be used to the cold and may favor it once the summer heat arrived but that didn't mean Danny would allow the boy's body to become numb because of it. At least not like this.

" _I don't understand what horses have to do with this. We both know I don't have any."_  A passersby glanced suspiciously over at the boy still in heavy winter clothes laughing hysterically to himself.  _"What's so funny?"_

Danny wiped a tear from his eye. "Uoy tsuj, gnihton." In his mind's eye Daniel pouted crossing his arms in stubborn confusion.

The trail leveled out to reveal a domed building and a crescent patio edged with a stone railing. Spaced evenly along the wall were five cent deposit viewing telescopes. Danny glanced up at the sky. They were far enough from the town that hardly any light pollution reached them. It was dark all around and the stars twinkled brightly from their home in space. As much as he wanted to personally  _see_  Daniel's smile he knew it was impossible even there. Hidden on the corners of the single building were the same devices scattered through Amity Park's streets. The two had practiced a sufficient amount to the point where Daniel could walk with Danny through a ghost detector with only a minimal percentage returned on the ectoscanners.

With a deep breath vibrant green faded to blue as Danny relinquished control. Daniel blinked a few times to get his eyes adjusted to the darkness. The world was so open. A delighted smile formed on the boy's lips as his demeanor brightened. He ran over to the edge, slapping his hands down on the chilled stone. "Ereh morf nwot elohw eht ees nac uoy! Wow!" Daniel turned to his side as if someone was there. "Ereht nwod sthgil eht lla ta kool dna-a! Eguh os saw ti wonk t'ndid I!" The human leaned forward over the ledge admiring the view. No matter how many stories or how much detail they had, Danny could never have painted such a picture for him.

There was a nervous phantom tug on his waist.  _"Don't lean over so far. You could fall."_

Daniel snickered. "Truh teg em tel t'ndluow uoy did I fi neve." Heeding his ghost's advice he backed away from the wall. Instead he turned his attention to the rest of his surroundings.

_"_ _Well aren't you trusting, human."_  Danny taunted. The human was right but he didn't need to be reminded of it. The amount of power the kid had over him was astounding. It couldn't be helped. Danny's desire to protect the boy from the hands of the Observants to the smallest paper cut was less than subtle. Ignored for most of his life, Daniel deserved to be fussed over.

"Tsohg suoedih uoy, tniop a rof gnitiaw llits m'I." He teased back, the two tittered despite others still in hearing distance. Daniel pivoted to his left, intent on checking out what the building was for. It must have a special purpose for being so far from the town.

He took half a step before smacking into someone. The two stumbled back from the force, Daniel losing his balance more than the girl. She looked about his age and had long black hair pulled behind her ears with an orange headband to reveal a pair of same colored earrings. She wore long orange pants and a purple white trimmed winter jacket over top her shirt and looked none too pleased at the situation. "Watch where you're going!" The girl huffed before pushing passed the unstable boy.

Daniel didn't watch her leave. Nor was he able to muster up enough confidence to mutter an apology. In his state it probably would have came out as inhuman gibberish. He sank to his knees, kneeling on the unforgiving cobblestone. His heart hammered in his chest as his lungs struggled to provide his body with air. He leaned forward, one hand held a fistful of his hair in a death grip while the other was in front of him for support. He closed his eyes to the world, darkening everything in his mind in a hope it'd help. Except it only reminded him of the helplessness back in his confinement. From within his mind a soothing voice cooed at him. It wrapped his own arms around his waist.  _"It's alright. You're okay. She's gone, it was just an accident."_  Although Daniel was still in control, Danny leaned their body back to look up at the star filled sky.  _"Remember where you are, Daniel. You are free."_  Danny spoke the last three words slowly so they would sink in better. _"Think nothing about before. Forget about that bitter human. All that matters is here and now."_

Tears threatened his vision as his throat became sore and tight. A shiver ran though his body as the wind blew through him. It was the first time he noticed the cold since they arrived. "Yrgna os dednuos ehs..." Daniel hated contact. The less people approached him the better. A simple bump on the shoulder while passing another human on the street sent him into the anxious frenzy of emotions he was currently experiencing. The boy had decided long ago the only being in existence ever allowed to touch him was Danny.

While his ghost couldn't actually hold him close like normal otherwise risk being detected, the spirit tried the next best thing. Using one of the human's own hands he gently wiped a tear from Daniel's eye before it cascaded down the boy's cheek.  _"Why don't we pay a visit to the Amity Park Observati?"_  The human didn't move. He was content staying where he was, his soul in the arms of his ghost.

_"_ _Come on,"_  Without overshadowing Daniel completely, Danny took control of the boy's legs. He guided the human toward the big double doors beneath an arch with a globe in the middle. They stepped aside to allow a couple out of the building before entering.

The two spent hours watching the stars and picking out constellations. If Daniel was having a hard time finding one Danny would end up borrowing an arm to point it out. Luckily the ghost had managed to 'obtain' plenty of nickels for the pay-per-view telescopes outside the Observati. It hadn't taken long for Daniel's initial excitement to return after the brief interruption with that girl. He was laughing and both of them were admiring the night sky with a single smile on their face. Daniel sat on the outer edge of the cold stone wall, lightly kicking his heels against the side and all around just enjoying the moment.


	9. Summer

Spring blended into Summer without either noticing. What was bitterly cold gradually became warmer until both preferred to have the shades drawn to block out the sun. Along with the change in temperature another aspect of their lives took a unexpected turn. In a sense, it was a good thing. It meant the remaining ectoplasm within Daniel's system had depleted to a minimal amount. However it also brought something Danny had dreaded.

"No. Please just… go away Danny. I'm begging you." Daniel's voice sounded like sand paper. A frown formed on his lips as guilt saddened his expression.

"But what if I-"

"No… all you'll do is make things worse again." The human shivered under the mass amount of blankets. Not only did Danny's presence make the room cold, his ice core dropped the temperature even lower. The only good thing about it was it kept the horrid heat away. As soon as the weather shifted Daniel's nonexistent immune system cracked. Neither knew or really cared about what he had caught. The only thing Danny cared about was whether it was fatal or not and how to make Daniel better now.

The last time the boy let Danny close, a cool chill overwhelmed his body. The human broke out in a harsh shiver so bad his muscles started aching. Reluctantly, Danny had removed himself from the boy's side and waited in the hallway. When the sound of chattering teeth disappeared Danny had peeked in to check on the ill human.

The cold was already starting to seep back into his bones when his ghost showed his face. As much as he wanted Danny close and to be in those arms the intense cold only made him feel worse. Telling the spirit no might as well have been the same thing as kicking a puppy when it was down. He watched as Danny fled from the doorway, unwillingly leaving the human to his suffering.

Later that night Danny phased through the closed door with a mug of hot chocolate wrapped in a wet, heated washcloth in hand. "Daniel?" His voice was soft, unsure if the boy was awake or sound asleep under the covers. He didn't want to wake the human up but it had been hours. The human had hardly gotten up at all in during the day. He wasn't going to the bathroom, other than to dry heave, and he wasn't drinking nearly enough fluids as a sick human should be. "Daniel? Wake up," He wanted to reach out and caress the boy's fever red cheeks but the body under the blankets stirred.

A blush spread from one ear to the other. The human's eyes were at half mast and clearly still half asleep. Black hair was folded and stuck up at all sorts of odd angles. Daniel pulled his arms out from the heavy layers and stretched. "Whaauh- time ish it?"

Like a mother hen, Danny floated over the bed and repositioned Daniel under the quilts. His legs formed into a single tail as he lowered the drink down. "Thank you," As Daniel slipped, getting whipped cream and chocolate shavings over his upper lip, Danny patted the boy's forehead with the washcloth. Once the hot chocolate was gave, Daniel exhaling with a delighted breath of warm air, Danny retrieved them and started back toward the wall.

"Wait-!" Daniel sprung from his warm nest and catch the ghost's sleeve. "Please don't go again, Danny. Please stay." As he spoke the volume quickly decreased until it was barely audible. Seconds ticked by with Daniel's gaze glued to the floor. Fingers once held in a tight grip loosened, retreating back to their owner.

This human never had to ask twice. Danny obliged and accepted the invitation. He shooed Daniel back underneath the covers before crawling in himself. He snuggled up to the overheating human, ghostly tail squeezing between the boy's legs and wrapping around one of them. Dull blue eyes stared into his own vibrant green. Those eyes left his for a moment as Daniel repositioned himself closer. He had his arms tucked tightly to his chest, body arched slightly towards the ghost. "Am I going to die?" The warmth from Daniel's forehead was almost dizzying for the cold elemental.

A hand brushed sweat covered black hair from the human's eyes. "Don't be ridiculous." He caressed Daniel's cheek, watching as the boy leaned into the cold touch with a soft smile. "It's just a human cold. You'll feel better in a couple days."

Anything Daniel was about to say was interrupted with a yawn, his eyes fluttering closed before slowly opening again. "Promise?" He settled back down onto the mount of pillows, snuggling beside Danny.

He made an affirmative sound. It'd be impossible to actually promise that sort of thing. There was no telling how long Daniel would be feeling ill. The human had no immune system. It hadn't been able to develop in his early years within the Ghost Zone. For all he knew, the common cold could be enough to kill the boy. Danny wrapped his arms around Daniel, letting the chill from his core chase the fever away.

* * *

The Post Office was practically empty when they arrived. One or two employees and less than a handful of other humans disciplined enough to be up so early in the morning. The sun had risen hours prior making it feel more like midday versus still way before noon. A bell rang above them as Daniel pushed the door open. Already the smell of licked postage stamps and stacks of freshly opened paper filled the air. Apart from a few sounds of someone sorting through mail behind the counter it was quiet. Just the kind of place Daniel preferred to be, other than libraries or the Observati. Despite being in the human world for almost a year there were still many parts to it that freaked him out, threatening to mentally curl in on himself and hide within his own mind.

Over the past few months the two had about perfected their trick. They practiced daily for hours in and outside of the apartment many times. Danny took the boy to supermarkets, malls, bookstores, plazas, public events and just around the streets of Amity Park. Due to the human's still forming muscles, Danny always made sure to exert a bit of his power to help support the boy's legs. Not once did they trip a ghost alarm or drag the Fenton's out of their home. Ectodetectors still picked up a small signal from them when they walked by but there was still at least a 50-75% deduction in the levels. While Daniel was in control of his body he was able to think his own thoughts uninhibited. They weren't ever kept to himself though. With another being tucked away in his mind privacy was a concept both boys didn't have anymore. With their connection Danny was able to speak within the human's mind and while Daniel could always answer in his thoughts, he preferred to voice it under his breath. During risky instances they worked out a system in case Danny needed to leave Daniel's body. It was agreed upon to only be for a short amount of time. For the longer the ghost was in the open the more likely he'd appear on radar. Only once did the town's detection siren go off and it turned out Danny was able to disappear from tracking devices when he returned to the back of Daniel's mind. Although neither noticed, there was one outward difference in appearance when Danny was in control. Depending on how much ghostly power was being used one or both eyes would change to a vibrant green. No mirrors were present when it occurred so it went unknown to both. Any other differences were undiscovered as Danny never pushed too much of his power into the human's system.

No matter how many walks they went on Daniel never stopped shying away from others. Whether the street was crowded from rush hour or just about empty it was clear he didn't trust anyone. Adults, children or teenagers his age went avoided. On the outside his expressions didn't falter but on the inside Danny was overwhelmed with the boy's anxious emotions. The same was true when Daniel was confronted with something he liked. The human's emotions skyrocketed to a hilarious amount when he was happy. It didn't matter if it was a little or a significant thing that brought it on. No amount of trying ever helped him control that happiness. Danny supposed it was because the feeling of joy was still relatively new to him. It had to be natural for someone who only knew one side of the spectrum to freak out with excitement when something happened to pull them across that line. He wasn't sure if Daniel would ever be able to control his reaction to joy and he really didn't care. He'd rather see the boy flip out from finding a penny on the ground than not. He loved seeing the look of bliss on the human's features.

Three twists of the wrist and the lock to Daniel's personal P.O. Box, courtesy of more shenanigans from a certain spirit, clicked open. Inside was a single wide envelope. Daniel reached inside and extracted it from the mailbox. He flipped it over in his hands reading the front, 'From Casper High, To Daniel'. The human took a seat by a window and undid the seal on the back. Inside were three pieces of paper with another paper clipped to the last as well as a miniature booklet.

The first page was a letter addressed to him from the school's principal.

_"Dear Daniel,_

_"Welcome to Casper High! We're so excited to accept you into our school and programs!_

_"You'll find in this envelope your class schedule for the upcoming semester along with a map of the school grounds and the student handbook. Please read the latter over before your first day with us._

_"All of your teachers have been notified of your previous education as a homeschooled student. All of our staff are kind and more than ready to give a little extra help to students in need of it._

_"Due to your financial situation we will be providing you with all the basic supplies you'll be required to have while attending classes at Casper High. Enclosed should be a short list of said materials for your convenience._

_"Please bring this letter and the rest of the enclosed paperwork with you on your first day."_

_"We look forward to seeing you in the Fall, Mr. Daniel,_

_"Sincerely,_

_"Principal Ishiyama"_

Daniel turned the page over and held it down on the table, averting his eyes from the sheet. "Regnol elttil a tiaw dluohs ew ebyam… siht od nac I kniht t'nod I."

_"Now Daniel."_ Here it comes. He'd heard this speech multiple times before. _"If we push this back further away it'll be harder for you. Plus the age gap will increase. You can do this."_ As Danny spoke in his mind the human mouthed it in mockery. _"Come on-"_

"Siht fi em deksa neve reven ouy, No emoc uoy! On." He gestured dramatically to the school envelope, "-Nim daednu ruoy ot emoc reve siht sdrawot trofmocsid fo level ym did. Pu em dengis dna daeha tnew tsuj uoy! Detnaw I gnihtemos saw" Before Daniel could finish his sentence Danny extended his control over the distraught boy. The words hurt. They were so clearly spat in a state of fear but it brought out an occurrence of distrust. Of course Danny had Daniel in mind. Whatever action he took, no matter what options were on the table Daniel was the only thing in his mind. The only being in the world that captured the ghost's thoughts the most.

With the two switched, Daniel pushed back into the recesses of his mind to continue his nervous fit in the silent privacy of his own head, Danny glanced around. On or two of the employees had paused their work to see what all the fuss had been. A smile and a nod satisfied their curiosity. Nervous to get away from the other suspicious stares his way, Danny quickly stuffed the papers back into the envelope. Tucking it securely under his arm he subtly bolted for the door.

Outside he listened to Daniel's anxieties as he walked along the sidewalk, occasionally cooing to him despite the bizarre looks he got from passerbys. A huge silver van blazed passed them, splashing mud their way. Danny let his power flow through the human's body. No way was he going to let some freak driver get Daniel sick again. Turning intangible, mud flew and hit the ground behind them. To his surprise the van pulled over without warning quite a few yards down the street. Danny turned to see Maddie and Jack Fenton exit the car, the woman's arm still in a brace. "I know I saw a blip on the radar. It's close!"

With a devilish smirk, the ghost they were so desperately looking for turned his back to the hunters and continued up the street. He could feel Daniel's previous anxiety shift to fear, his soul curling in on itself. "Su dnif t'now Snotnef esoht. Uoy no sdnah yhtlif rieht teg reven ll'yeht. Eciton neve t'ndid yeht dna seson rieht rednu thgir erew ew. Yrrow t'nod."

* * *

Soon the day Daniel had been dreading was upon them. The true test of their studies. Had everything they worked for in the past year been enough or even worth it? Do or die tomorrow was the day they'd find out if a human who lived his entire life in the Ghost Zone could be successfully introduced back into human society. The two had practiced their trick nonstop for several months. Although still imperfect Daniel had significantly improved on writing and reading in English. The boy would always be more comfortable in his first language but at least could pass as an unknown foreigner. Still… Danny had insisted they took the day off so Daniel could rest his mind and relax before, as the human so called it, 'judgment day'.

"You ready? First day's tomorrow." The two had moved to the bedroom after Danny suggested getting a good night's sleep.

"Don't remind me!" Daniel groaned dramatically, flopping onto the bed like a rag doll. The ghost stared at him, another groan erupting into the room this time muffled by a pillow. After that, Daniel didn't move a muscle.

With a sigh Danny phased the covers over the human. "Sleep well, Daniel." Danny floated above the bed, fingers twirling through various locks of the boy's bangs as he slept. When he was positive the human had fallen asleep, Danny rummaged through the school envelope. Picking out the class schedule and map, he spent the upcoming quiet hours memorizing the layout for the big day tomorrow.


	10. The First Day is Always the Longest

Daniel stared up at the seemingly huge doors leading those who wandered through them to the hallways of the school. Letters in hand and stomach currently residing in his throat, he forced his legs up the steps. He couldn't help freezing in the doorway. The corridor was so long with metal boxes stacked on each other lining the walls. The ceiling was lined with never ending lights. The floor tiles reflected multiple ribbons of light that shifted as the viewer moved around. It was only then he was glad Danny made him get up early. If he had to walk into Casper High surrounded by other students filling the hallways he was sure it would lead to a serious case of anxiety. It was already at the point where Danny had to assist him in moving forward.

A pair of shaking hands lifted the map up. Daniel's eyes skimmed over it but he wasn't able to retain any of the information. The rare taste of eggs and pancakes coupled with the familiar flavor of stomach acid danced in the back of his throat. He had barely been able to get breakfast down before and now it threatened to come back up. Daniel gulped it down and continued walking. After a while he stood alone in the middle of a three way intersection. He stared at the map again, turning it this way and that way. "Does the administration office even exist?"

 _"_ _Let me try."_ In the boy's frustration he allowed Danny to take over. The ghost extended himself to reach from head to toe of the human's body. The previous look of terror and confusion shifted to a calm smile. "Now let's see…" Danny corrected the map in his hands and, following the corridors with his finger, spotted their destination. He walked them confidently down the hall, turning left here, taking a right there until stopping in front of a door with a plaque reading 'Administration'. He knocked loudly until footsteps could be heard on the other side. "Okay. Here you are." Not given a moment to protest, Danny relinquished control and pushed Daniel's conscious out front just as a skinny redhead woman opened the way to the offices.

Her hair was pulled to the side in a complicated braid. She wore fairly casual attire for a faculty member, zipping up her hoodie as Daniel walked in. The door closed and he felt trapped. There was definitely no turning back now. She looked him over, "You're Daniel right?" He shook his head in confirmation. "Great! Principal Ishiyama is waiting for you in her office. Go right along in." She stepped behind him, gently placing a hand on his back and guiding him to the next room. She knocked three times before turning the knob and pushing the boy inside.

The woman Daniel figured to be the principal looked up from stacks of early semester paperwork. "Daniel! Welcome, I hope you found your way here alright." Ishiyama was enthusiastic as she spoke. It made him nervous so he answered silently, waiting for her to continue. She stood up from behind her desk and gestured toward the chair on the other side. "Go ahead, sit. You have the paperwork with you I presume?" He promptly handed it to her. She glanced over it and placed it on her desk for later. With a smile she took out a new sheet from one of the drawers and passed it to her new student.

Daniel took the paper and slowly worked through the words in his mind.

 

Name: Daniel

Locker 245 Lunch; D

Block I 8.00-9.30 Gothic Tales

Check in & Advisory *In Gymnasium

Block II 10.00-11.30 Earth & Space Science

Block III 11.30-1.30 Personal Fitness

Block IV 1.30-3.00 Algebra I

Block V 3.00-4.30 Concepts of Communities

A Lunch 11.30 C Lunch 12.30

B Lunch 12.00 D Lunch 1.00

*Mandatory assembly for freshman at 7.45

 

"Now, now. Off to the assembly. It's very important, especially since it'll be your first public school day here. Casper High tends to function a bit differently compared to other schools." Principal Ishiyama even went to the trouble to guide Daniel out her office and through the main administration room. A waving motion caught his eye and he looked over to see the girl from minutes earlier giving him a thumbs up.

Daniel awkwardly followed the crowd, biting his lower lip as those surrounding im all tried to push through the small, barely two person doorway. Squeezing passed the other students felt impossible with the multitude of different already forming social groups shoving each other. Like a skittish cat wedging through a tight space Daniel stumbled away from the mass. The wooden floor of the gymnasium was smooth, waxed over with a few specs of dust scattered about. On either side of the huge room were multiple levels of wooden bleachers. Both ends complete with basketball hoops and the boundary lines for the game painted between them. To the left stood two men off to the side dressed from head to toe in white apart from their shined black shoes. Their hands twitched in anticipation, occasionally reaching behind them as they watched the students enter the gym before hesitantly relaxing. In the middle of the room was a big white board standing up a couple feet from the floor. Just a ways in front of it sat an elevated machine casting, for now, a neutral light upon the screen.

The students piled into the seats, Daniel taking the empty row in the very back. Within minutes of the last teenager sitting down the doors burst open to reveal a large man in orange and a smaller woman in blue. Daniel's breath caught in his throat. He covered his mouth, trying to stifle any nervous sound that threatened to escape. From within him, Danny too, shrunk back. Had there not been any chance of setting off an alarm he would have done them both a favor and turned invisible.

"Welcome youngsters to Casper High!" Jack's voice boomed eagerly spreading his arms out on either side..

"We're here to officially welcome you, new students, freshman and transfers. Before we let you loose on your exciting journeys of learning in Casper High's great halls, there are a few house keeping things that need to be discussed first." Daniel's eyes darted from the Fentons to the two men in white who straightened their posture and took a few steps closer behind the couple.

Daniel frantically looked around as if expecting the other kids to single him out and turn him in. Even Danny was fretting at their current situation. Just being in the same room as the Fentons gave both of them shivers and restless legs that wanted to jump from the seat and carry the two out of the vicinity. But there weren't any guns pointed their way nor pairs of eyes glaring knowingly even in their direction. Daniel's hands had balled up into fists around the denim above his knees, the knuckles quickly turning pale white. With a gulp he struggled to relax. It was the last thing he wanted to do, let his guard down in the enemy's midst but now was not the time to panic or pass out. Though it felt like it was the perfect scenario for the former. One deep breath later, both human and ghost tuned their ears to the hunting couple.

On the screen there was a projected image of two octopus ghosts. They were low level in ecto energy terms not that it mattered. "These two ectoplasmic malefactors attacked us in the supposed safety of our own home. As weak as they were for ghosts, you can't underestimate any one of them!" The slide changed to a spirit Danny knew all too well. "While this one may be small, it created its own battle suit fit for destroying life and skinning YOU children alive!" The crowd gasped, the loud shout and information scaring them to attention.

"Don't you worry now," Maddie waved her husband off. She sent him a glance missed by most before speaking again. "As we were saying, we've added some new regulations to the school in order to keep you all safe." Jack clicked the slide button to reveal a new image of a normal looking locker. "We've equipped all lockers with a retina scan for anti possession purposes. Even if one of you isn't aware of a ghost lying within you, undetected by the many other equipment throughout the school, the scan will immediately send us an alert. To which we'll rush to your aid and suck that putrid ghost out for termination!"

Daniel audibly gulped. Jack had clicked through many slides as his wife talked. The last one ending on some poor disemboweled, dissected creature staining the table and the red hooded cloak beneath it green. There were reminisce of various tattoos on its body, most of which had be carved into. The human could feel a cold spot within him and spreading over his skin. Ghost or not that was a gruesome sight to show to children. Many looked away waiting impatiently for the slide to change or for the lights to flicker on, signaling the end of the torture.

"In addition," A girl quietly opened the door, closing it softly before following the beckoning wave from one of the men in white. "This is Valerie Gray. If you're ever in any ghost trouble and have no time to officially call us, go immediately to her. She's a veteran hunter, very talented and can protect you."

The girl confidently stepped forward to address the crowd. She looked vaguely familiar in a 'hey we bumped into each other a few months back' sort of way. Except with a bit more of a literal sense. "Hey there everyone." Valerie smiled, proud to be standing beside true professionals. Even if it wasn't ghost hunting it was still exhilarating to be recommended in such a way by those who were in a much higher position in the field. She cleared her throat in a sudden burst of nervousness. Everyone was looking at her. "My name's Valerie and I'm a sophomore. I've fought ghosts for a little over a year now," she placed her hand on her heart. "I promise to continue keeping this school and town safe for all of you."

"Just to give any of you transfer students an idea, Valerie here interned with the Guys In White and was also trained by my stupendous wife! You can always rely on her aim!"

 

* * *

 

 

Following the crowd out the doors, the two walked silently to the first class on the list. They had been expecting some sort of security for the school the Fenton daughter went to but… from the looks of things, the only problem was the Fenton's presence today as well as that other hunter within the student's ranks. Maybe it wasn't going to be as bad as either one of them expected.

Daniel stood outside the door to his first class. A quick look at his schedule verified the correct room. He swallowed. His palms started sweating. The boy slowly reached towards the doorknob-"Out of the way, loser." A taller, more athletically built student in a red and white sports jacket pushed him aside. Daniel stumbled to regain his footing as the blond boy flung the door open for himself and three other students close behind him. Two of them glanced over at Daniel for all of one second before deeming him unworthy of their attention.

 _"_ _You alright?"_  The spirit residing in his mind asked. It was a standard question, one they both knew the answer to. Of course he wasn't. Daniel was nervous enough without adding on conflicts with other humans.  _"You can do this. I'm right here if you need me."_  Danny nudged them forward, enabling Daniel to walk into the class.

In the room most people had taken a seat leaving a few open spots in the front and very back of the room. Without an ounce of hesitation Daniel clenched his fists and worked his way to the back. While no one was really paying attention to him as he passed he still felt like he was going through a labyrinth of observants. All staring at him. Waiting for him to make a mistake they could get Walker to punish him for. He had one more row before being in the sanctuary behind everyone else when suddenly the floor was quickly approaching. During Daniel's panic, Danny extended their arms out and managed to stop Daniel's nose from breaking on the tiles. The human blinked the green from his eyes and rolled onto his back. Anyone who wasn't watching him before was now. They were all leaning over their desks and each other trying to catch a glimpse. From the corner of his eye, a foot moved from the center of the walkway back under the owner's chair. It was the same teenager who pushed him just minutes earlier. He, along with another guy and two girls were all snickering. Daniel immediately avoided their gaze and scurried to pick himself up. Eager to get out of the spotlight, he picked the next empty seat and proceeded to make himself as small as possible.

The tall, balding and out of shape teacher entered the classroom sporting a 'How to Stay Hip for the Unhip' guide book in his hands. He wore gray plaid pants, long black shoes and a slight blue dress shirt with the sleeves folded just above the elbow as well as a black tie done loosely under his collar. "Yo, dawgs. How'sit hangin'?" The entire class sat in silent disgust as if they had heard the same dumb line for the one hundredth time. The man upfront sighed in defeat, placing his book on the desk to his right. "Good morning class. My name is Mr. Lancer and welcome to the first day of Gothic Tales." The man turned around, picked up a piece of chalk and jotted down his name on the whiteboard for good measure. "From now until the end of the semester we're going to sit in a circle. So please arrange the desks in a 'U' shape in front of the board accordingly."

Groans filled the air around the class. While each of the students stood, forcing their chairs back with a soft squeak on the floor, Daniel remained seated.. He watched everyone move around and assist one another with the tables. It had only been three minutes into the class and he could already tell he loved sitting in the back. No one could stare daggers into his head since they all had to face forward. Plus based with the rows of other students I front of him he could probably easily whisper to Danny without being noticed. Daniel stood up when a few other teens came over to his table. Unsure what to do he moved away until he felt the bookcase along the wall. Panic crawled to the first of his emotions. There were so many people. He felt cornered. They all stood in between him and the door.  _"Try to copy what they're doing?_ " Danny's voice brought him out of his worries **.**  The boy watched everyone around him for a few seconds more before hesitantly jumping in. He moved all of two chairs to the edges and everything else had been done. Arranged just how Mr. Lancer had asked, the students enacted a game of musical chairs as they fought for certain seats over others. Much to Daniel's dismay, he winded up directly across from the teacher's desk, in the middle of the ground versus forgotten on the side.

To his left sat a girl dressed mostly in black. Her black makeup and bracelets matched her combat boots as well as her black hair which was pulled back into a mid ponytail leaving her bangs and the lower half of her hair left down. Showing between her footwear and green-black plaid skirt was a pair of purple stockings that matched her lipstick. Daniel paid her a few quick glances before shyly directing his attention elsewhere. He had never seen another human dressed that way. Compared to everyone else's normal clothes in the class, though Daniel was the last one to ask what was normal, it seemed like she was trying to make some sort of statement. Whatever it was went way over his head. To his right sat a blond girl with an orange flower in her hair. She had an orange trimmed white tee shirt with a backwards P on the front. To go with the rest of her attire she had orange thigh high pants and white flats. Surrounded by girls on either side and in direct sight of the teacher, Daniel shrunk down into his chair hoping Danny would use his power to make them invisible to the world. Worst start to class ever. Standard and knowledge to how they normally go, none. But that didn't matter. He didn't need to be in public school before to know how much this Gothic Tales class was going to suck, seating arrangement alone.

The teacher walked to the back of the class and picked two large stacks of books off the shelves, placing them individually on either side of Daniel. He took the first one from each pile and placed it in front of the boy before silently instructing the other students to distribute the rest amongst themselves. Before heading back to the front Mr. Lancer removed one more, much smaller stack from the bookcase. A thin plastic ringed notebook filled cover to cover with lined paper as well as a pink block eraser and a number two pencil. Without a word he placed the supplies on top of Daniel's books,  _Frankenstein_  and  _A Collection of Short Stories by Edger Allen Poe_. "How about we go around the class and tell each other our names and… something interesting about yourself? To get to know each other. We'll start with you, Mr. Baxter." Mr. Lancer turned his attention to the athletic blond. The same one who tripped Daniel minutes before.

Dash sighed from the mundane and to him, overly done icebreaker. "The name's Dash Baxter and I'm the football team's quarterback." The teacher nodded, a proud smile on his face as he looked to the next to introduce themselves.

"My name's Paulina-" Her introduction was cut off as Daniel tuned her out. He really didn't care who these people were. Danny meant well but getting to know these other humans felt like a lost cause. No one would ever be able to understand or have enough patience to deal with him. Sometimes he wondered if Danny's patience was wearing thin. But the ghost was all he needed or wanted. Throwing these other teens into the mix was like stirring an already calmed pot.

What's done was done. At that point, already attending the first class of the year there was no way of getting out of it. Although he didn't want to concern himself with others he figured it'd at least be a decent idea to blend in and not make himself look like an idiot. "Uoy ot deklat reve yllaer ylno ev'I… Elpmis siht gnihtemos no pu ssem I fi tahw?" Daniel whispered just under his breath, blue frantic eyes glancing around the room in hopes no one else heard him. The Goth girl to his left was staring at him from the corner of her eye.

 _"_ _Just relax and remember. English. 'My name is' and something interesting about yourself. It might be smart to stay away from anything ghost related."_  A good number of the books they read together in the past year featured high school kids on an adventure to get into the popular ring. To be in the spot light. The concept was made out to be such a big deal and so important on multiple levels. All Daniel could think about now was how wrong that was.

Daniel fidgeted in his chair. "Taht sseug dluoc I neve." He muttered with an eye roll that didn't go unnoticed to the class.

Mr. Lancer was standing on the other side of the tables. Daniel risked a glance up and from his position the man looked so damn tall. The frown on his face apparent. "Alright then Mr…. Daniel. If you're so anxious to go, you're next."

The four that had gone before him; Dash, Paulina, Kwan and Star all glared at him as though he had committed a taboo. The rest of his classmates either watched him when they didn't think he was looking or stared at him in confusion. He gulped down his insecurities his drying up throat before opening his mouth. "My… name is Daniel." All eyes were on him. English. Think. Wait no that might be a bad thing. Don't think just make something up. Hurry up they're all waiting. Impatience was clearly growing on their faces. Ugh! Why don't these stupid chairs let you disappear? "And… I.. I've… been home schooled my whole life."

To his relief the girl next to him introduced herself almost right after him. "I'm Sam Manson. I'm an ultra recyclo vegetarian." Any attention toward his direction was either averted to the Goth girl or to something else in the room. The group who had gone before him all groaned in unison when Sam finished, her dietary habits known by everyone school wide except for Daniel.

After what could have been an enormous train wreck of a 'conversation' between other humans he allowed himself to relax a little. A quiet sigh of relief escaped his lips and he sank down into the cheap plastic seat. Within his head, Danny was ecstatic. The ghost gave praise upon excited praise. The boy's nervous habits calmed themselves with the ghost's voice. Maybe Danny was right.

From the corner of his eye he could see Sam lean ever so slightly his way. All previously dispelled tension came rushing back full force. "How come I've never seen you before? I know homeschooled but not even in town." Other students were still going around for the icebreaker. It probably wasn't the time to start chatting with anyone. He hoped if he ignored her she'd give up and not get them in trouble. Not only was Sam an ultra recyclo vegetarian, whatever that meant, she was also apparently extremely stubborn when it came to something she wanted.

Daniel risked a glance. "I have a hard time around people." He spoke quietly, enough so she'd have to strain to hear and avoided any eye contact. School days lasted how long? Ghosts were easier to understand. Their motives always clear. Humans were a mystery, dangerous and unpredictable.

Sam appeared to think on his answer before begrudgingly coming back with one of her own. "Yet you decided to come to public school… wait this must be your very first day. Need any help with classes or getting through the building?"

A shadow was cast over Daniel's books, interrupting anything he may have said in response. Mr. Lancer loomed over him from the across the table. "If we're all done with our little side conversations, I'd like to continue with my class." There was a subtle hint of annoyance in the man's voice. Daniel had to admit interrupting and ignoring everyone else probably wasn't the best start to his first day.

The class dragged on. While there wasn't much information sent their way, it was still hard to focus. So far everything the teacher said was introductory junk. They went over the class syllabus, the assignment schedule and briefly talked about each one including the final exam. After Daniel had glanced at the clock for what seemed like the millionth time he began to wonder how others could stand being stuck in school all day for most of their pre adult lives. He stole a look at his schedule, double checking the ending time of first period. Much to his satisfaction it was merely seconds away. As soon as that clock hand finished ticking around in one last circle he was free. Without warning a loud buzzing sound erupted through the room and halls. Daniel near jumped out of his skin, falling over backwards in his chair. His classmates ignored him in pursuit of rushing for the door.  _"It's j-just the signal to the end of a class period. You're okay."_  Although the ghost tried to hid it, even he had been a little startled at the ear piercing bell.

The human rolled off his chair and reached for his books that had fallen in the chaos when someone else beat him to it. "You look old enough to be in my grade yet you're a freshman?" Daniel tentatively gave her a nod, taking the supplies from her as they both stood back up. "Can I see your schedule?" Without even giving him a chance to decline Sam held her hand out expectantly. He shuffled the books in his arms until he managed to get at the right paper, placing it on her all too eager fingers.

She took the sheet and, slinging her backpack over her shoulder, headed to exit the room. Daniel watched for a moment as she just started to leave with his schedule, gazing at it as though it was a possible key to a mystery. He fumbled with the books in his arms and rushed after her. To his displeasure someone grabbed his arm before he reached the doorway. Daniel froze, dropping everything onto the floor. The hand was gone but the emotions stayed. He wanted to leave, to go back to the apartment and be away from everything. He craved the endless days of alone time drinking hot chocolate and curling up next to his ghost.

Danny turned the boy around, forcing his shoulders to relax. Mr. Lancer was standing a few feet behind them with a purple bag in one hand. "I was instructed to pass this along to you." With Daniel curled up in their mind, Danny took the backpack from the teacher and shoveled the fallen items into the bag. Copying what the other students had done, stuck his arm through one of the straps and swung it half over his shoulder as he moved his other arm through the next loop. From his peripherals the Sam girl had paused in the hallway, observing each movement.

He gave Mr. Lancer a gesture of gratitude and left the room. He passed Sam and continued down the hall. Still holding the new kid's schedule, she quickly caught up to him. "You've got Personal Fitness with Tucker Foley. He's my best friend. Despite my training with him last year he still failed." She scanned the rest of the schedule. "Looks like the three of us have Concepts together at the end of the day."

Sam glanced over at him as they walked. The nervous boy she had already seen appeared completely different. He now stepped with a certain level of confidence that wasn't there before, almost like a personality change. They stopped in front of what she guessed was his locker and the new kid's shoulders rose as he withdrew on himself. He looked at it as though trying to find a missing feature hidden just under his nose. "What's wrong? Oh right, it's a retina scan. Just lean close to the lock here and don't blink as it scans you. Like this."

"Uoy knaht" Daniel mumbled as he placed the books from Gothic Tales into the locker. He closed it as gently as possible but the sound still sung through his head.

Sam furrowed her brows as she looked at him. "Pardon?"

"Oh…" Daniel inwardly winced, his gaze fell to the floor darting back and forth as he searched for the equivalent. "Thank you."

"No problem. If you need any more help just ask." Sam continued to smile at him in the increasingly growing silence. She rocked back on her heels as the boy in front of her just stood there. "We'd better get to the gym for Advisory soon or else. Anyone who is significantly late has to go through more trials and hoops based on suspicion. The Fenton's are really serious about ghost hunting." Despite himself, Daniel froze. Sam continued walking, having not noticed his hesitation yet. The Fentons. Jack and Maddie Fenton are still here? They have to be in the same room again? So soon?

The boy gulped, forcing himself to take a staggering step forward so as to not alert Sam Manson about his absence from her side. He could feel Danny's nervousness as well. Or… couldn't feel. Normally the ghost's energy flowed through his body in a soothing circuit. That loop had stopped completely. His mind was silent. What were they going to do? If Danny was discovered he'd be taken for extermination. If Daniel was found as a type of enabler for a ghost, harboring one within his body and walking around without a single detection device going off… with that assembly earlier, dissection seemed like the way the hunters would go about it.  _"We're going to have to figure out what our limitations are with this."_  The two clung to each other as they reluctantly followed Sam to the gym for the Check-In.


End file.
